The Journey Home
by Ishval
Summary: The journey to Earth is fraught with danger and adventure. This is what happens on their journey.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1-A Little Adventure and The Road Home

 **I don't own Voltron Legendary Defender. Just taking the characters out for a spin.**

Thanks to Puff the Ninja for allowing me to bounce ideas off her.

* * *

Everyone ranged themselves around the cryopod inside the Black Lion. Hunk glanced around, "Is-Is he gonna be okay?"

Allura gazed at the Yellow Paladin, "Only time will tell if this body will accept Shiro's consciousness."

Lance gazed at the princess, "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Pidge brought up a holographic screen on her wrist gauntlet, "I've tried contacting the Voltron Coalition. It doesn't make any sense. There might be some distortion I'm not picking up on. Maybe we need to get into the upper atmosphere for a better signal?"

Hunk shook his head, "The Lions aren't going anywhere without recharging their power cores."

Allura folded her arms over her chest, "The battle with Lotor severely depleted them. If we had the Castle of Lions, we could recharge them, but…"

Pidge asked, "Is there another way to charge them?"

Coran crossed his arms over his chest. "They can recharge naturally given enough time and ambient energy, but that might take phoebs."

Keith looked away from the cryopod, "There's gotta be something we can do."

Coran looked up, "Well, we are on the Dalterian Belt, home to the element faunatonium. We may be able to use it as a temporary solution."

Lance stared at Coran as he scratched the back of his head, "Faunatonium?"

Coran placed his hands on his hips, "Well you see it involves gluon field fluctuations—"

Lance held up a hand as he shook his head, "You know what? Never mind. Magic or something? Sure."

Coran held up an index finger, "You're not far off. We're going to use the element to expand the energy particles within the cores. But first, we need a Yalmor."

Hunk leaned forward, "Wait, there are Yalmors on this planet?"

Coran huffed out a slight chuckle, "How do you think we find the faunatonium? Yalmors have a nose for the stuff."

Keith gazed at the other as he made a command decision, "Okay. You guys find a Yalmor and get this faunatonium stuff. I stay with Shiro."

Krolia moved up and smiled as she gazed proudly at her son.

Allura gazed at the cryopod, "I'll stay as well. I may have exhausted the limits of what I learned on Oriande, but I still might be able to help in some way."

"I'm staying too. I might not be magical like Allura, but I have to stay," Maya said as she stared at the cryopod.

"All right we'll get started," Coran replied as he ushered the others out.

Romelle stared with her blonde eyebrows squished together, "Wait, you fought Lotor, defeated him, stopped an explosion that could have destroyed reality, took your friends consciousness from the Black Lion, and put it inside his clone, and now we're simply moving on?"

Hunk gazed at her, "Trust me, I'm always saying the same thing, but these guys like to move on."

Maya heard them leave. The only concern she had right now was Shiro and Keith. She didn't exactly know what was going on, but the reading on the pod concerned her.

Allura gazed at the current Black Paladin, "He's going to be okay, Keith."

Keith glanced away for a moment as he replied, "I hope so. You can't imagine all he's done for me."

Maya snaked an arm around the current Black Paladin's waist. She was startled but happy that she could finally feel Shiro again in her mind. It was nice that she could sense him still after not being able to touch him since his disappearance and return. But knowing he'd died, she didn't want to lose him again.

Allura studied the readings, "His levels are getting dangerously low."

Krolia placed a hand on Keith's shoulder letting him know she was with him as he leaned toward the tube, "Fight. I won't give up on you."

A tear slid down Maya's face. Her heart hurt. This can't be happening again. Get him back only to lose him again?

Nimel sat on a crate behind Allura as she watched the scene play out before her. Her heart ached for the pain Maya was in.

Allura wiped at the moisture collecting in her eyes, "I'm afraid the clone body is rejecting Shiro's consciousness."

Maya stared down at Shiro's face as she sobbed. "No. Please, Shiro. Don't leave me."

Krolia pulled the Zenoxian into her arms, letting her weep.

Keith gazed at Allura, "There must be some way you can help?"

Allura shook her head, "There's nothing I can do."

Keith slammed his fist down on the pod which echoed, "Shiro, please. Fight!" He sobbed, "You can't do this to me again."

Maybe it was Keith's outburst that did it, but suddenly the pod beeped. Keith stood up.

The lid dissolved as Shiro coughed several times.

Keith with a slight smile tugging at his lips, "Shiro!"

The man's eyes opened as he stared up at the younger man, "Keith? I was dreaming. Keith… You saved me."

Keith embraced the man that was as close to him as a brother, "We saved each other."

The present Black Paladin helped the former sit up as Maya wiped her eyes and a beaming smile lit her face.

The others reentered the cargo hold of the Black Lion. Lance's eyes lit up, "Shiro's looking better. All right!"

Keith looked their way, "Where were you guys? We couldn't get ahold of you."

Lance replied, "Well, we were shrunk by a magic skunk, but we ended up by using that sparkly dust that makes electricity bigger or whatever. We used it to unshrink ourselves. So ready to charge up the Lions?"

Shiro sighed, but chuckled, "It's good to be back."

* * *

The Green Lion sat like it was at attention. A signal came from inside it. "This is Katie Holt, Paladin of the Green Voltron Lion, broadcasting to Earth. Does anyone copy? Over. I repeat this is the Paladin of the Green Lion, and part of the Voltron Coalition. If you hear me, please respond. Over."

Nimel placed a hand on the girl's shoulder as the human drew her legs up in her seat and wrapped her arms around her knees. "When we get to your planet we'll see your family again."

"I hope so, Nimel."

* * *

Pidge and Nimel rejoined the others. Shiro turned as she sat on the corner of the crate he sat on. "Were you able to contact Earth?"

She stared down at the ground, "No luck. The low power levels are probably affecting our broadcast distance. I'll keep trying as we head for Earth."

Lance smiled, "I can't believe we're finally going home."

Hunk wrapped her arms around himself, "I'm gonna hug my parents and never let go."

Pidge added, "I can't wait to see how Dad has integrated Altean and Earth technologies. I bet he came up with something amazing," she said as she grew excited. "And my mom…" her face screwed up, "Oh, she's gonna be so mad at me for running away." Her face fell, "I hope I'm not grounded."

Keith turned to Coran, "How long do you think it'll take us to get home?"

"I was calculating that now. Without the luxury of a wormhole and with diminished power cores, let me see carry the one… oh, it's gonna take us approximately one hundred and fifty thousand Earth years."

Everyone gasped while Hunk and Lance nearly freaked out.

Keith nearly shouted, "A hundred and fifty thousand years?"

Pidge glared at the royal advisor, "Coran. I think your finger counting is a little off. It's gonna be one point five years."

Everyone released a collective sigh of relief.

Maya was glad they had someone as smart as Pidge with them.

Coran laughed, "Oh, right. I didn't carry the three."

Allura frowned, "It's going to be a very long and difficult voyage, but it's our only chance to replace the Castle of Lions."

Shiro glanced down as he sounded almost wistful yet also sad, "There were times when I thought I'd never see Earth again. To be able to go back—"

Lance jumped up brimming with excitement, "Well, what are we waiting for, guys? Let's hit the space road."

Krolia said, "I suppose we need to figure out who's flying with whom."

Coran said, "And what about the animals?"

Pidge looked at him and asked, "What about them?"

Coran replied, "Well, the wolf can't go with Kaltenecker, wolves eat cows. And the cow can't be in the same area as the mice because aren't cows afraid of mice?"

Lance chuckled, but smiled, "No, elephants are afraid of mice."

"Elephants?"

"Yeah. They're giant gray animals with long noses that grab things."

Allura sounded perplexed, "Giants with long, grabbing noses? Earth seems so strange."

Keith said, "The wolf is riding with me, but that means Hunk will have to take the cow."

Hunk shook his head as he waved his hands in front of him, "Me with the cow? Not a good idea."

Maya spoke up, and her expression made her look fierce, "Wherever Shiro goes, I go."

Lance gazed at nothing as he thought about it. He focused on his leader, "Hunk's right. Keith, you're keeping the cow. Some else is gonna have to take the wolf."

Shiro, Lance, and Hunk all turned to Pidge. "Not me. I'm allergic."

Allura looked thoughtful but then smiled, "I'll take the mice."

"How come you get the smallest passengers?" Lance asked.

Hunk looked around, "I say we go old school and draw straws."

Nimel blinked a couple of times as she stared at the Yellow Paladin.

Allura deflated, "But I'm terrible at drawing."

Coran quickly agreed.

Lance preened, "Guys, you're all overthinking this. I know exactly where everyone should go."

* * *

After Lance came up with the arrangements for the lions, Maya set up cots in the Black Lion's cargo hold.

She returned to the cockpit to see a picture of the mice sleeping, but Coran's singing of the Altean alphabet was enough to get on anyone's nerves.

Lance came up on the comms, "Guys, I think I did a bad job choosing the passengers."

Keith finally got to the point he couldn't take it anymore, "That's it! We're switching passengers."

Allura quickly agreed.

Hunk asked, "Hey, why haven't we heard from Pidge?"

Lance said, "Yeah. Wait who's in her lion again?"

Keith replied, "I don't know, you're the one who came up with this grouping."

Hunk thought about it, "Well she must have— no they're with Keith. The wolf is with Allura. I have Nimel and the mice."

They touched down on the nearest oxygenated planet and quickly switched passengers.

Pidge now had Coran and Romelle. She groaned, "Oh, come on guys. This is so not fair."

* * *

Maya put her hand on Shiro's shoulder. "You should rest."

He didn't put up a fight or argument as she guided him into the cargo bay of the Black Lion and helped ease him down on one of the cots she'd set up.

For the first time since he'd disappeared, he looked at her. "Maya," his voice broke as he spoke. "I'm sorry for what the clone did to you. You didn't deserve that."

She felt the turmoil brewing inside his mind. She knelt in front of him and placed her finger to his mouth. "It's not your fault."

Moisture formed in his eyes, as he moved her hand from his face. "Every time I look at Keith now, I-I see what the clone did to him. The burn on his face. "How can either of you trust me again?"

She didn't hesitate a bit as she wrapped her arms around him. "We love you, Shiro," she replied as she hugged him tightly. "We'll never leave you," she whispered in his ear.

As she released him, she said, "You should rest now, and stop thinking. Everything will be okay."

He nodded as he lay down on the cot. "Thank you," his voice was soft as he closed his eyes.

* * *

Maya and Shiro joined Krolia and Keith in the cockpit of the Black Lion. An alert appeared on the screen.

Krolia stared at it for a couple of ticks, "This is the Klii-Nyn System. There's a Blade of Marmora rally point located on a moon here. We should check in with them and get an update on operations."

Maya went back to the cargo bay and changed into her armor. She hung her weapons belt around her waist.

She returned as Keith said, "Team, we're going to make a quick stop. Everyone follow me."

As the Lions neared the rally point, Krolia spoke into the comm, "Hailing Zailox Station. Please respond. Repeat Zailox Station. Please respond."

Static answered her hails.

The Lions landed on the station.

Maya gazed at Keith, "I'll stay here with Shiro."

Keith nodded, "If anything happens contact me over the comms."

"I will be careful."

After the Paladins entered the base, the proximity alarm went off in the Black Lion. She brought up the screen, but she was just a tick slower as Coran came over comm's, "Enemy ship incoming!"

The Paladins returned to their Lions and took off chased by Galra fighters. They flew into a cloaked Xanthorium crystal minefield.

The Cosmic wolf for whatever reason began to distribute the passengers around. Depositing Coran in the Black Lion.

The Black Lion flew directly into one of the cloaked crystals. Maya threw an arm across Shiro holding him safe from the bouncing around as Coran was thrown down onto the floor plating.

Three of the Galra fighters combined their beams firing at the Lions. Their targets were able to avoid the blast.

Keith, as the head of Voltron, came to a quick decision, "We have no choice. Everyone into the cyclone. Hunk that means you and I are gonna have to push a hole through the storm and create a path for the team. You ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

The forces inside the storm shook the Lions. They scanned the area for anywhere they could use for cover.

Pidge spoke up, "There's a volcanic ice planet nearby. It has geysers, steam vents, ice tunnels, extreme changes in temperature and an unstable core. It's super dangerous. It's perfect."

Keith replied, "Okay, team, let's do this."

Maya smiled as she felt the pride that radiated from Shiro seeing how Keith had become the leader he knew he could be.

They exited the cyclone and entered the atmosphere of the volcanic ice planet with the Galra fighters hot on their tails.

As the Lions dove into an ice canyon Keith said, "All right, everybody stay in formation and follow me."

Hunk hollered, "Geyser! Geyser!" as some of the Galra lasers struck the walls of the canyon and water spewed out.

Lance dodged some of the shots aimed at the Red Lion. "Ha! You missed."

The Galra lasers struck an overhang causing ice to fall as Shiro seemed to come back to himself a little, "Watch out for falling ice."

As dangerous ice chunks fell in front of the Black Lion Keith's eyes spotted something that might help them. "A cave. That gives me an idea," he said. "Lance, bring up the rear when everyone's through the tunnel, fire above the cave opening. Red should be fast enough to get in before the avalanche completely blocks the way."

"Roger that, team leader."

"We'll see each other on the other side."

Maya hoped Keith's plan would work. She closed her eyes as she silently prayed for Lance.

Lance said, "Uh-oh! Some of them still made it through."

Keith said, "Split up, we need to thin our attackers."

An icon showed up on one of the Black Lion's display screens showing contact with the hull. Shiro said, "He's trying to break in. I'll take care of him."

"No," both Maya and Krolia said at the same time.

Krolia continued, "You're still recovering. I'll do it."

"All right," Shiro replied reluctantly.

Keith yelled, "Wait!" He pulled out his knife from its sheath. "Take this," he held it out for her.

She took it and ran off with it.

Coran turned, "I'll help, too." He raced after her.

Keith hollered, "Hang on!" as he sent the Black Lion into a series of barrel rolls.

* * *

Keith asked, "Is everyone okay?"

Hunk replied, "Clear."

Allura added, "Me too, thanks to Romelle."

Pidge and Lance got away from their attackers with the help of the Cosmic wolf.

* * *

The Lion's escaped the cave only to be caught in a tractor beam. Instead of the normal tractor beam pulling them up, this one pushed the Lions down pinning them to the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – The Way Forward, The Feud, and The Ruins

 **I do not own Voltron Legendary Defender. Just taking the characters out for a spin.**

Thanks to Puff the Ninja for allowing me to bounce ideas off her.

* * *

Lance scooted along the wall of the cell.

Hunk looked at him like he'd lost his mind, "What are you doing?"

If Maya weren't in pain at the moment, she'd have thought it was funny.

"I'm feeling for a secret passage."

Keith sighed, "You've watched too many movies. There's no secret passage."

Lance backed away from the wall, "Oh yeah? Then how do you explain this?" He lifted a leg and kicked the metal wall but whimpered as pain radiated through the limb. "I meant this," he kicked the opposite wall jumping backward holding his leg.

Maya stood next to Keith but slid down the wall to sit behind Hunk. Her abdomen ached. She knew it was from the stem-cell transplant.

Nimel scooted near her allowing the Zenoxian to lay her head in her lap. She moved her cuffed hands and ran her fingers through Maya's silver-white hair. "You've overdone it." She spoke softly.

Krolia glanced toward Lance, "Will someone shut him up? One guard is patrolling out there. If we can get this door open, we can overpower him."

Hunk glanced around, "What happened to Coran?"

"He must have managed to hide when we were captured," Krolia replied.

Allura said, "At least we have one ally out there able to fight for us."

Pidge looked over in Allura's direction, "Are you saying our fate rests in Coran's hands?" She stared at Lance, "I will help you look for that passage."

Shiro gazed down at Nimel and Maya, "What's wrong with her?" he asked as Maya's face was covered in a slight sheen of sweat.

Nimel turned her head up to gaze in the white-haired man's eyes. "To mature she went through a stem cell transplant. Her father donated the cells. However, there are side effects." She didn't mention that Maya had overdone it by taking care of Shiro. She didn't want the man feeling bad about it. He had enough on his plate without any unnecessary stress.

Keith overheard the conversation. He wondered why Maya would take such a risk, but he understood. He frowned, from now he'd have to make sure she rested along with Shiro.

The door to their cell opened, and two guards entered. They were followed by two of Lotor's generals. The one with the weird multi-colored tail on her head spoke, "Look who's here. It's Voltron."

The larger one smirked, "We're going to have a little talk."

Lance stared at them, "Hey you're the guys that Lotor shot into space."

Pidge added, "And the ones that were trying to kill us."

Hunk nodded, "Yeah, sure, but we're all friends, now right? I for one, am glad you survived."

The softer spoken Galra smiled, "I'm glad you survived, too. It's no fun torturing a dead person."

Hunk frowned, "Oh. So maybe not?"

The bigger of the pair of females stared at them, "Where have you been all this time. And what happened to Lotor?"

Shiro stared at them not comprehending what they were asking, "What are you talking about?"

The smaller stared back, "We're talking about your little disappearing act."

"Answer the question! How did you survive that explosion?"

Hunk shrugged, "Don't you know? You were there?"

The smaller female rolled her eyes, "I think there's a little confusion about how we ask questions, and you give us answers scenario works."

"Enough of your games. Where is Lotor?"

Keith replied, "Lotor's dead. We left him in the quintessence field."

The smaller one smirked, "You know, that doesn't add up. Why aren't you dead?"

Hunk smiled sheepishly, "Because of the power of teamwork?"

The bigger one seemed ready to blow a gasket. "I'm going to ask you one more time, and then we're going to take a more extreme approach."

"The fun part."

"What happened to Lotor and where have you been all this time? If you insist on this charade of ignorance you give us no choice but to apply pressure."

The smaller one cracked her knuckles, "Who's our first victim."

"You," the bigger one pointed. "I'd bet half my fleet this group of heroes has a soft spot for the small one."

Maya reached out a trembling hand as she murmured, "No."

As the smaller Galra took a step towards Pidge, Lance rushed up. "Don't you touch her!"

She evaded him and smacked him into the wall.

As he moved to stand, a guard shoved his laser rifle in Lance's face priming it as it hummed gaining energy ready to fire at a moment's notice.

Shiro took a step forward.

The larger Galra said, "You defiance is adorable and so very misguided."

The smaller one used her tentacle to grab the Green Paladin and held her up in the air.

Hunk hollered, "Pidge!"

Keith yelled, "Let her go!" Another guard pointed his rifle at the Black Lion's pilot.

The smaller Galra held Pidge against the wall. The Green Paladin kicked, her heels slamming into the wall.

Keith growled low in his throat. "We told you, Lotor's—"

A boom sounded and rocked the ship as an alarm blared. A computerized voice came over the intercoms throughout the ship. "Hull breach in hangar one. Lockdown sequence initiated."

The smaller Galra dropped Pidge, and they ran out of the cell. The Green Paladin leaned into Hunk.

Krolia nodded to the Paladins who stepped forward. "The next time that door opens, overwhelm the guard."

They heard noises from outside, the door opened, and they all said, "Huh?"

They found the mice sitting on the guard.

Allura knelt, "Hello little friends." Platt squeaked and used the key to unlock her cuffs. "What? Where?"

As the squeaking continued as Allura unlocked the cuffs on the others, Hunk asked, "Where? What are they saying?"

"Coran's trying to rescue us. And he's got help. Acxa."

Keith now a bit confused said, "What?"

* * *

The Paladins along with Nimel who supported Maya, and Romelle, found Coran trying to fight a pirate that not only outweighed him but was at least three times bigger. Allura knocked the pirate out with one punch.

Lance and Keith ran over to the royal advisor. The Red Paladin pulled one of the ginger-haired man's arms over his shoulder supporting him. "See? You got lucky," the dazed Altean said.

Keith asked, "Coran, where Acxa?"

The left side of the Altean's face was swelling as he gazed at the Black Paladin, "I don't know. Where am I?"

Shiro asked, "Are you okay?"

"Never better. Now let's get our belmets and hayards."

Lance smiled in amusement and chuckled slightly, "Don't worry. We got you."

Coran turned his head toward the Red Paladin, "Oh, thank you, Princess Allura."

Lance shook his head as he guffawed.

* * *

They found where the pirates were keeping the weapons and helmets.

Keith whispered, "Our bayards."

Lance leaned forward, "they have weapons, and we don't. Any suggestions?"

Pidge peaked around Lance but was pushed out of the way by Coran who yelled, "Unhand those bayards, you scallywags!"

Pidge glared at the royal advisor, "So much for the element of surprise."

Maya kept her pain filled eyes on Keith as he went completely still and concentrated. Suddenly his bayard was in his hand. He took off running toward the guards as it activated.

Once the pirates were dispatched, he donned his helmet. He turned, "Lance, lead the way. Keep the team together." He began to walk down the corridor.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Acxa saved our skin. I'm not gonna leave her behind. I'll meet up with you guys soon."

* * *

Now rearmed with their weapons, and helmets donned, "Lance said, "Let's get to the Lions."

They ran down a corridor finding an airlock which Lance opened, and they flew out only to be chased by several pirates. Lance and Pidge turned giving the others covering fire.

Hunk weaved his way through the pirates, pulled his bayard, and started blasting while Krolia came up behind another and fired her blaster. The blast damaged the pirate's jet pack sending him flying off uncontrollably into space.

They reached the lions and heard Keith, "Guys, zero in on my location and fire on the ship."

Allura asked, "Are you sure?"

Keith hollered back, "Do it!"

All four Lions opened fire.

Explosions rocked the pirate ship as Keith and Acxa escaped.

* * *

They touched down on a nearby planet where they took shelter in a cave. Hunk entered carrying an armload of wood or what passed as wood on this planet. "Uh… I just looked at the Lions, and they're in worse shape than ever."

Maya knew that Shiro wasn't altogether there yet. He was putting up a front so no one would worry about him. "We should give them some time to recharge before we head back on our way," he said.

Lance glanced around, "Wow a lot of things have changed over the past few weeks."

Acxa sat up straight, "Weeks? What are you talking about?"

Allura gazed at the former general, "The last time we saw you. You were fighting us alongside Lotor."

"That was three deca-phoebs ago. No one has seen you since your fight with Lotor."

Keith stared at her, "That's impossible."

Acxa turned to him. "It's true. After Lotor jettisoned us, we managed to make it cover on a meteoroid. There we saw both Voltron and Lotor disappear. Eventually, Voltron re-emerged… alone. But then there was an explosion and after that… nothing. That was three deca-phoebs ago."

Lance whistled through his teeth, "Whoa."

Allura placed a hand to her head, "So, as far as everyone else in the universe is concerned, Voltron has been gone for three deca-phoebs?"

Hunk shocked dropped his armload of wood.

Pidge stared at the fire. "That explains the discrepancies in the star charts in our Lions. I thought they were off because of our inter-dimensional jumping, which I guess they were in a way. Because, when you think about it, that must have been the cause of the time slippage between our experience and the rest of the universe."

Maya frowned but fought the stab of pain in her midsection. This was too much for her to take in. Her father probably thought she was dead.

Keith gazed at Acxa, "How did you end up here helping us?"

Acxa took a breath, "Zethrid, Ezor, and I were marooned on the meteoroid for days. Finally, a Galra ship came to investigate Lotor's last known whereabouts. We took it over. With Lotor gone, it was clear that there was a power vacuum in the Galra Empire. Zethrid and Ezor wanted to exploit that for their gain… but I knew I had to find my path. And it led me to you."

Keith gazed at her, "Thank you… for saving us."

Acxa looked away from Keith, "I hope this makes up, in some way for all the wrong I've done. I realize now that Lotor wasn't the man I thought he was. He preached unity, but in the end, he sought only power."

"I understand how you feel. I fell for Lotor's lie's as well," Allura added.

As they continued to talk Maya couldn't help but wonder what happened to her father.

Maya wrapped an arm around her middle as Nimel and Krolia set up two cots in the back of the cave. Maya gazed at Shiro. She didn't need to see his face to know he was hurting though he put up a good front. She strode over to him, "You need to rest."

He turned to face her, "I'm—"

"Fine," she finished for him. "You forget I created a connection with you and your not fine."

Keith stepped over to the pair. He placed a hand on Shiro's shoulder, "I don't have Maya's ability, but I can see your hurting."

The former Black Paladin's shoulders slumped. "I didn't know I was that easy to read."

Keith let out a chuckle as a slight smile tugged at his mouth, "Not to the others, but I've known you for longer than they have."

Shiro allowed himself to be led to the cots. He lay down, and in a matter of minutes, he was asleep.

Nimel stepped up and pointed at the other cot. "Rest," she ordered.

Maya sighed but complied with the order.

* * *

The lions sat up a day later. They weren't fully recharged, but now the Paladins could get somewhere. They reloaded the Lions and set off for Earth again.

* * *

An alarm went off in the lions. Hunk's voice came over the comms, "Oh! Whoa. That was messed up. Hey, guys I just dozed off for a second, and I had a crazy dream."

Pidge asked, "Garfle, Warfle, Snick?"

"No way, you too?" the Yellow Paladin asked.

Keith chimed in, "You guys saw that too?"

Lance added, "So wait, does that mean Bob is real?"

Maya didn't know what the others were talking about. She was just as confused as Shiro.

Coran piped up, "Bob? Did you all meet Bob?"

Allura asked, "Coran, you know him?

"I've never met him myself, but I've heard tales. He's an all-powerful, all-knowing, interdimensional being who judges the worthiness of great warriors."

Lance said, "I bet he never met anyone worthier than us."

Coran added, "The legends say that if you meet Bob live to tell the tale, you're destined for great things indeed."

Keith said, "That guy was a jerk, though right?"

Allura replied, "Completely."

Lance added, "I'm not that dumb."

Unseen behind him Nimel sniggered behind her hand.

* * *

The Lions flew through space with Maya and Shiro now riding in the Green Lion with Pidge.

The Paladins were asleep in the cargo bays. Keith's voice rang out over the comms, "Everybody up!"

Maya sat up as Pidge muttered, "Only a ninety-nine on the test? But I did all the extra credit."

Keith like a taskmaster roared when he didn't hear anyone reply, "Come on, it's time to wake up."

Pidge screamed, "Ah! What a nightmare."

Shiro sat up and chuckled.

Lance groaned, "What's the point? We're just floating in space. There's no day or night here."

Allura's replied sleepily, "I have to agree with Lance. We should sleep for fifteen more dobashes."

Keith said, "Guys, we can't let this long journey make us soft or dull our skills. Routine will keep us sharp."

Shiro nodded, "Keith's right. Routine is what got me through being Zarkon's prisoner and being in the infinite void of the Black Lion."

Lance replied, "I guess that does make you an expert on killing time."

The Paladins finally got moving as Krolia set up a new battle simulation.

Hunk muttered, "Can't we have breakfast first?"

* * *

Maya and Shiro stood behind Pidge as she yawned.

Krolia said, "I programmed a new battle simulation." The screens on all the Lions changed to show flames from lava around the Lions. "I think it's going to be especially challenging."

Hunk asked, "Why do you sound happy about that?"

Lance sighed, "Like mother like son."

Keith growled, "Focus."

Krolia explained the situation, "Here's the scenario. You're on a planet with double gravity, dense volcanic fog, and eight blovar raptors are attacking. What do you do?"

Hunk asked, "Do these raptors have eggs? I say we steal some and we make a little breakfast." A raptor smacked against the Yellow Lion's viewscreen. Hunk screamed.

Krolia said, "A blovar raptor just melted your face off, Hunk!"

As they continued with the simulation, Keith was the second to be knocked out leaving Pidge, Lance, and Allura to work through it. They figured out how to defeat the raptors, even if it was just a simulation but forgot about the volcano which knocked all three of them out.

Lance huffed, "That fictional planet seemed harsh."

Krolia said, "I programmed the simulator to be unbeatable. I wanted to see how long you'd survive."

Lance sighed, "Well, I hope you're happy."

* * *

Hunk fixed breakfast and the wolf delivered the meals to everyone. Hunk sighed, "Aw, what a good wolf… fella… guy. Gosh, we gotta come up with a name for this wolf."

Keith said, "Not gonna happen."

Hunk replied, "Oh, come on! I vote Kosmo."

Lance said, "Kosmo, is cool."

Pidge added, "Yeah, it's nice."

Keith said, "I figure when he's ready he'll tell me his name."

Lance replied, "So, Kosmo. Got it."

A screen popped up in the Green Lion. Pidge excitedly exclaimed, "A signal."

Allura asked, "How did you get a signal?"

Pidge replied, "I've been running a passive scan so I wouldn't give our location away, looking for any signs of communications. And I just picked up something."

Keith asked, "Well, what is it?"

"I'm patching it through now."

What they saw was some strange Bii-Bo-Bi show. Coran was enjoying himself.

Hunk heard something, and he said, "Wait, wh— shh, shh. What's that noise?"

Pidge cocked her head and listened. Maya nodded she heard it too. "It sounds like some interference. I'll try to tune it out."

Krolia interjected, "No, wait. Pidge can you amplify that signal?"

"On it." Her fingers flew over her controls as she worked to both amplify and weed out any ambient noise from the signal, "Judging from the intermittent sound structure, it's just deep space interference. Most likely a radiation pulse from a nearby star."

"No, that's just what it's supposed to sound like. Listen to the sounds in-between the pulses. There's a unique pattern."

Allura gasped, "She's right."

"Before the Blades were unified, we would use this crude way of communicating with each other. Not many Blades know this code, it must be a senior member."

"Kolivan?" Keith asked.

"Possibly."

Shiro asked, "What does it say?"

"It's a distress signal. Whoever is sending it is in trouble."

Pidge scanned the area. "It looks like it's coming from this sector."

"Do we know anything about this section of space?" Shiro asked.

Coran replied, "Not without the Castle of Lions' research library core. We would be flying blind."

Krolia replied forcefully, "We must go!"

Hunk added, "That's a pretty severe detour from Earth."

Keith replied, "This isn't open for debate. If Kolivan is there, then maybe there will be more Blades we need all the help we can get to reach Earth."

* * *

The Lions zeroed in on the signal as Pidge pressed buttons on her screen. "The signal is coming from this planet. I'm detecting remnants of a civilization, but I don't see any signs of life."

Romelle asked, "Is that a good or a bad thing?"

Hunk replied, "In all my space experience there are never any good signs."

They landed the Lions near where the signal seemed to be the strongest. As they walked through the remnants of the city dust swirled up around their feet. Broken walls with burn marks and empty windows stared back at them. Remnants of something terrible that must have happened there.

Pidge studied the screen on her wrist gauntlet, "I can't tell exactly where the signal originates. I'll keep trying to triangulate its location."

Krolia studied the ruins around them, "The signs are all around us. There was a massacre here."

Allura gazed at some of the marks on the walls, "Some of this damage looks like it's from magic."

Shiro's head snapped up. Magic meant druids. "Everyone stay alert."

The hair on the back of Maya's neck prickled at the same time the wolf growled.

Krolia ran her hand over some of the strikes on a wall. "These strike patterns look Marmoran."

Keith said, "Keep looking. We need to find whatever Blade is broadcasting that signal."

Maya couldn't stop the feeling that they were being watched. She edged closer to Shiro, not for comfort but to protect him. With the loss of his Galra arm, he didn't have a weapon to defend himself.

The wolf growled again.

Keith glance in its direction, "What is it?"

The wolf growled and took off running.

Everyone followed finding someone or something lying under the wolf. Everyone with a weapon pointed it at the creature.

Keith placed a hand on the back of the wolf, "Good job. Who are you? Who's broadcasting the signal?"

The creature said, "It was me."

"Impossible. You're no Blade of Marmora."

"I will explain all if you would put down your weapons."

Krolia gazed at Keith, "Let's see what he has to say."

As the being led the way back to its hovel, Maya couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Pidge looked up from her screen, "This is where the signal is coming from. Somewhere below us."

The creature let out a laugh as it sat on a box, "You are clever. But I wouldn't expect less from the Paladins of Voltron."

Lance gulped as he swallowed hard, "You recognized us?"

"Of course, of course. Though, I am surprised to see you. All were certain you perished."

Lance ran a hand over the back of his neck, "Yeah, we just found that out. But we're back."

"And I am so grateful that you are. It's been so long since I've had… guests." The creature was humanoid, but it appeared not to have eyes. Instead, it looked like a pair of mandibles jutted out where a mouth would be.

Maya rubbed at her forehead. She kept getting these weird vibes from it. It felt like deception.

Shiro's replied, "Well, thank you for your hospitality, but who are you? What happened here?"

"Bloodshed happened here. The death happened here," the creature's voice cracked as he spoke. "I am Macidus. This is my home planet. But now I am the only left here."

Krolia pulled her weapon and aimed it at Macidus, "What are you doing with this?" She pulled open a curtain showing row upon row of swords that once belonged to members of the Blade of Marmora hanging on the wall.

"I hang them in honor of their sacrifice. They died trying to protect the universe."

The Galran woman didn't lower her weapon, "How did it happen?"

Macidus threw something into the fire that burned. The flames shot as they munched happily on the fuel. "This all started when Voltron disappeared, when-when you disappeared. The power vacuum that ensued destabilized much of the universe. Galra turned on each other. Warlords and pirates became the rulers of the land."

Allura leaned forward, "What happened with Haggar, the witch?"

Macidus shrugged, "No one knows. But her druids continued her work, carrying out her final orders. The set out to destroy every Blade."

Maya shuddered. The thought of druids running around the universe unchecked gave her cause to worry. She took a step closer to Shiro, why she wasn't sure.

Something clicked in Pidge's mind as her eyes grew large, "After Lotor took over the throne, almost every Marmoran agent was exposed."

"And that's when the slaughter began. All Blades were called away from their assignments and sent to this base. Kolivan knew they were being hunted and he wanted to make a stand against them. He believed it was their only means of survival."

Romelle added, "That must be why they abandoned that base we found."

"Indeed. When they arrived here, my people helped them fortify their base, but the Druids found us sooner than we hoped. They came without warning. The Druids encircled the base and besieged it with magic.

"After a long battle of attrition, the base fell. Casualties on both sides were enormous. My people were the first to try to escape. They were slaughtered. I stayed behind with Kolivan. He led those of us that remained to battle the last of the Druids. But for each one, we managed to take down… nearly a hundred Blades would fall.

"In the final battle, I was buried beneath a collapsed structure. When I regained consciousness, the fight was over, and I was the lone survivor. I've been sending the signal Kolivan gave me ever since in hopes of finding any remaining Blades."

Keith replied, "There are still a few of us alive."

Maya detected the sneer in Macidus's voice as he replied, "Good." She leaned over to whisper a warning to Shiro when Krolia distracted her.

"I recognize every one of these Blades. I trained many of them myself. If I had only been here," her voice held a tinge of regret. She pulled a sword from the wall staring at it. "Kolivan."

Keith stepped up behind her, "Their service will not be forgotten."

The sword in her hand flickered, "Kolivan? His blade, it's flickering."

Pidge intrigued asked, "Flickering? What does that mean?"

Krolia held out the sword, "A Marmoran agent's life force is connected to their blade. I saw it glow. He must still be alive."

Macidus replied, "Just barely."

Everyone gasped.

"Your hand is looking much better."

Keith asked, "My hand?"

Maya's body vibrated with the sense of danger.

"You don't remember our fight?"

As he remembered the fight and the pure quintessence that had splashed on him that healed it, Keith called for his bayard. "You've been using that signal to draw Blades in!"

Macidus cackled, his evil laughter sent shivers up Maya's spine as she hefted her chakram.

"Kolivan proved to be useful after all." He vanished as he dropped a container.

Bright energy flashed freezing everyone in place. Allura managed to pull the energy into her body as she collapsed to the ground. She struggled up to her knees.

Pidge moved toward her concerned, "Allura, are you okay?"

Allura gasped, "Pidge lock onto Keith's location!"

The Green Paladin brought her arm up and the screen popped up out of the wrist gauntlet. She pressed a couple of commands, "He's directly below us!"

"Stand back!" Allura directed the energy to the cave floor which blasted a hole in the roof of a lower level. Allura, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk dropped through the hole.

Macidus turned to face them, "How? I'm going to enjoy making Kolivan watch your end." He attacked the Paladins, but Keith closed his eyes and listened focusing on where Macidus was as he kept disappearing and reappearing. He threw his blade, hitting, and killing the druid.

* * *

Keith, with help, got Kolivan down from the spot where the druid had him hung from the ceiling. They carried him up to the main cave.

Pidge ran a medical scan over the leader of the Blade of Marmora, "He's in pretty bad shape, but it looks like he's gonna be okay."

Kolivan opened his eyes taking in those surrounding him. "I… I'm sorry my code lured you here."

Keith knelt by him, "There was nothing you could do. The coordinates I gave you, the Altean colony, were you able to find it?"

The Galra shook his head, "I sent a team. There was no one there. Just an empty facility."

Keith nodded. He rose to give the pair a bit of privacy while they continued to talk.

Krolia looked toward the wall with the swords, "Judging from the blades that Macidus collected, he may have delivered a critical blow to the Marmora, but he did not defeat us entirely."

Kolivan sighed, "I must find the others. The universe needs us now more than ever."

Krolia looked away. She came to a decision that genuinely hurt to make. "I will join you. We will revive the Blade of Marmora, but he did not defeat us entirely."

Kolivan replied, "The Druid has a cruiser stored not far from here. We can use it to reunite the Blades."

Krolia replied, "That's the first bit of luck in a long time." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Rest." She rose from her position next to Krolia and walked over to her son. "Keith, I… I'm sorry to have to say goodbye to you for a second time."

Keith's smile was gentle and warm as he gazed at his mother. "It's not goodbye." He pulled out the knife and offered it to her, "Take this. You can return it when we see each other again."

The wrapped their arms around each other and shared a heartfelt hug. "Thanks for everything you taught me, Mom."

Shiro spoke softly from behind them, "Keith. It's time to get going."

As they released, Krolia said, "I love you, Keith."

"I love you, too, Mom."

Krolia grabbed Maya and pulled her into a hug. "Remember, your part of my family, too. Keep an eye on Keith and continue watching over Shiro. He's a good man."

Maya hugged her back, "I will."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – The Journey Within and Know Your Enemy

 **I don't own Voltron Legendary Defender. I'm just taking the characters out for a spin.**

Thanks to Puff the Ninja for letting me bounce ideas off her. And thanks to Keef, a friend from a writer's group I'm in for helping me on Shiro's breakdown.

* * *

Pidge and Shiro consulted a screen inside the cockpit of the Green Lion. Maya leaned off to the side. Shiro pointed at something on the screen, "Maybe if we run this configuration."

Pidge frowned, "Still nothing. Allura try the sonic wave."

"Okay, I'll try." Several ticks later, she replied, "It's still not working. And it probably won't until our power-cores are recharged."

Maya leaned back and looked out the window into the vast sea of blackness. Nothing could be seen it was a total void of nothingness.

Lance asked, "How long have we been out here?"

Romelle sounded bored to Maya's ears. The Zenoxian couldn't blame her, she was bored too, but she focused on what Romelle was saying. "Going on four movements."

"And how long is it going to take us to get to Earth at this speed?"

Romelle replied, "I think Pidge said something like ten billion deca-phoebs."

Pidge piped up, "I said one and a half Earth years."

Hunk said, "Whoa, whoa. Wait, there's a big discrepancy between ten billion deca-phoebs and one and a half Earth years. Which one is it?"

Pidge lost her cool, "It's one and a half Earth years. We've gone over this several times, though there may be a margin of error of about a month, depending on any time dilation we encounter."

Shiro spoke up, "Look, we knew this wasn't going to be an easy or quick voyage but replacing the Castle of Lions is our top priority."

Keith jumped in, "We just have to stay sharp and maintain discipline. We knew when we started this journey that we'd be low on power. We didn't plan on going through the galactic void, but we'll get through it."

Lance said, "Don't worry guys. We'll run into something eventually that will turn this trip around."

Maya couldn't help it as she snorted and then shrugged when Shiro turned his head toward her. She was happy, he was doing much better now.

The Lions flew into a darker area of space. "Hey, Pidge," Lance asked as he leaned forward in his seat, "Why is it so dark out here?"

"I can't be sure, but my theory is that this area is surrounded by some kind of nebula that blocks most of the light."

"Oh, yeah. Must be a patch of that dark matter I've heard about."

Pidge sighed, "That isn't what dark matter is."

Hunk had to try to lighten the mood a bit, "Although, when it's this dark I guess it doesn't matter, right guys?"

Nimel fought the urge to smack Hunk in the back of the head.

Shiro said, "Guys, I think I might have an idea on how to get the Lions back to full power."

Lance sounded a bit upset, "And you're just now telling us this?"

Maya opened her mouth but Shiro turned his head her way, and his eyes twinkled at her. Something that she hadn't seen in a while. She couldn't help but smile. "Well, I'm sorry Lance, but I guess having my consciousness transplanted from the infinity of Voltron's inner quintessence into the dead body of an evil clone of myself has left me out of sorts for the past few weeks."

Lance chastised replied, "Oh… Yeah."

Keith interested asked, "What is it, Shiro?"

"It's difficult to articulate, but remember when we were fighting Zarkon… and we were hit by that beam that drained all of our quintessence?"

Allura said, "Yes you were all completely incapacitated."

Shiro nodded, "That's right, but we managed to regenerate enough power to keep fighting."

Keith agreed, "Yeah, we repowered Voltron ourselves."

"Exactly. And I think that's how it's meant to work. Since I disappeared, you've been relying on the Castle's crystal to keep the Lions charged. But if you were a team of fully-realized Paladins, you wouldn't need that."

Allura sighed sadly, "I… I can't help but feel this must be my fault. You were able to recharge Voltron before, but since I joined…"

Shiro replied, "It's no one's fault. Being a Paladin of Voltron takes training. You just haven't had the time to focus on working together to find your balance for this configuration."

Pidge said, "Well, we've got nothing but time now."

Lance brightened, "That's right. We've been down before, and we always come back."

Keith replied with heartfelt warmth, "I'm glad you're here, Shiro. After all, you went through, how did you find the strength to be the leader of Voltron?"

"I had help. That's why there are five of you to lift each other up."

* * *

Maya, Romelle, Coran, Shiro, and Nimel all stirred as if waking up from a nap.

Allura looked out the window of the Blue Lion, "It looks like that nebula carried us thousands of light years away."

Coran asked from behind her, "So, where are we?"

Pidge brought up some star charts, "That looks like… I recognize these constellations!" She nearly bounced in her seat from excitement, "This is Earth's solar system! It's the Milky Way!"

Hunk whispered reverently, "Home."

Lance said, "We made it."

Shiro's voice held some nervousness to it, "We're finally here."

Keith said, "Well what are we waiting for?"

Maya felt the palpable excitement emanating from Lance and Keith, but she felt some sadness from Shiro. She placed her hand on his arm, "You should be happy."

He sighed as he tried to find the right words for what was going on in his mind, "How do I explain that I'm alive to my mother? How I tell…" He closed his eyes as he whispered softly, "Adam." He opened his eyes, "How do I tell him I'm alive and I still love him?"

Maya wasn't revolted by this revelation. She wrapped her arm around Shiro's waist. "You'll figure it out. And if he doesn't take you back, he's stupid."

Shiro chuckled as his eyes slid over to her, "You're wiser beyond your years."

Pidge cleared her throat. She couldn't help but be privy to the conversation behind her. "I'll see if I can get a message out to my dad. Dad, it's me, Pidge. Do you copy?" We're back in Earth's solar system and heading home now." Static answered her.

She continued and perked as she barely heard her dads voice. "To any beings who receive this message…"

Pidge replied, "Dad, your okay. How's Mom and Matt? Is he with you? Hold on, let me try to get a clear signal." As she fiddled with the controls, the message cleared up some. "What?" she asked. "Who's captured? Dad, what are you saying?"

Keith's voice came over the comms, "Guys, are you seeing this?"

Allura groaned, "Oh no."

Lance whispered, "The Galra have invaded Earth."

Hunk said, "It's not a reply. It's a distress signal."

Voltron sped up as they made haste for Earth. Pidge continued to transmit, "Dad, please respond. Voltron is coming. Hold on."

Hunk in a near panic asked, "Are we too late?"

"Katie, Katie is that you?"

"Dad, it's me. I'm here."

"Katie, I'm so glad to hear your voice. Where are you?"

"We're within the Solar System. Heading to Earth now," Pidge replied.

"Wait! You must stop!"

Keith said, "What? Say again."

"Stop. Sendak has invaded Earth. If he finds out that Voltron's here, he'll threaten the people in exchange for the Lions."

Keith ordered, "Reverse thrusters!"

Hunk complied, "Copy that. Hold tight!"

As soon as Voltron came out of hyperspace, it cut in front of a Galra patrol.

Sam's voice came over the comms channel. "Paladins we blocked the patrols transmission. You're clear."

Lance replied, "Roger that. Let's take 'em out!"

Voltron took out the first two when Pidge shouted, "Wait! Don't destroy that ship. We might need it."

"Really? For what?" Lance asked.

"I've got an idea. We can't fly our Lions to Earth without being spotted, so they'll have to stay here on this moon in Saturn's rings, which should keep them hidden from Sendak's radars. We'll fly in another way."

* * *

Everyone loaded in the back of the ship while Keith took the pilot's seat. He flew through the Galra blockade around Earth. Not one ship challenged them. As they entered Earth's atmosphere, he hollered, "Hang on!"

Hunk thought about it for a moment. "This is weird. This is almost exactly how we left Earth, crammed in the cockpit of the Blue Lion."

Keith growled from the cockpit as he fought the controls. "We're overweight. I'm losing altitude. Brace for impact!"

The ship impacted into the ground leaving a long gouge in the Earth.

They climbed out of the smoking wreck and walked to the top of a hill. They looked down on the ruins that spread out before them.

Maya's breath caught in her throat. It reminded her of what was left of her home. The last sight she'd had of it before she was taken away as a prisoner of the Galra. Why? She asked herself. Why were the Galra, so hell-bent to take over and destroy everything in their path?

Hunk stared down at the once happy city, "Hey, I know this place. I've been here. This is Plaht City. It's about a half-an-hour from the garrison."

Lance replied, "Whoa, I can't believe this is all that's left of it."

Keith glanced around them, "We need to get to the garrison. Stay together. Let's move quick and quiet."

* * *

They entered the city. Everyone with a weapon held it in their hands as they walked cautiously through the ruins. A couple of Galra drones appeared firing at them.

Lance hollered, "Whoa! Take cover!"

Keith told Lance, "I'll distract it, you take the shot. Don't miss." Keith jumped out from behind the burned-out hulk of a car. Both drones took off flying after the Black Paladin.

Maya trained her eyes on the drones, if Lance missed, she'd take them out.

Lance stepped out from behind the car, taking careful aim. In less than a minute he took them down along with two others that had shown up.

Keith gazed around, "I wonder how many of these things they have around here. Pidge any chance we could see those things before they get to us?"

"Already on it. Looks like four more headed our way."

A whirring noise caused them to scatter. Shiro, Maya, and Allura ran for cover behind a piece of broken wall. Shiro said, "It's not drones. Look."

Three sentries fired on them as Hunk and Lance fired back taking out one of the sentries.

Maya threw her chakram taking out another of the sentries.

The third charged their position as Hunk stood up. They heard the sound of a vehicle approaching. It hit the sentry, and a guy jumped out mopping up. Another garrison vehicle pulled up, and a woman jumped out yelling, "Stay down, we got this!"

Keith turned and hollered, "I had it," as Hunk and Lance rose from behind the wrecked car.

The man said, "Drones send distress signals when attacked. Our weapons neutralize those signals. So unless you wanna deal with a swarm of those things, let us handle it. Now let's get out of here before more show up."

They loaded up into the vehicles. As they pulled out, Maya felt Shiro stiffen next to her. She knew he had a relationship that didn't seem to end very well with someone named Adam, but he didn't talk about it. She let him be. If he wanted to talk about Adam, she'd be there for him like he'd been there for her during times when she needed it.

As the cars came to a stop, Pidge jumped out and landed in her mother's arms.

Maya heard a voice yell, "Lance." She looked over to see the Red Paladin buried in a pile of humanity. She wiped away a tear, happy for him, but she silently wished her family were here too.

She followed Shiro out of the garrison vehicle. He helped Allura out as a man approached.

He was older, and one eye stayed closed as if he'd suffered some type of injury to that eye. His voice was gruff as he spoke. "Officer Shirogane. It's great to see you again. My apologies for throwing you in quarantine."

Coran shoved his face into Iverson's, "Ah, so you're the one who strapped Shiro to a table. I heard about that."

Shiro replied, "You were just following orders as any good soldier would. It's great to see you too. Allow me to introduce you to our Altean allies. Meet Allura, Romelle, and Coran. And this is Maya, a Zenoxian, and Nimel who's a freedom fighter."

Iverson gazed at them all, "The honor is mine." He directed his next comment to the Alteans. "Your technology has been instrumental in defending this small corner of Earth."

Coran played with his mustache, "Oh, yes Pop-Pop was quite the genius."

Iverson turned his gaze to Keith, "And Cadet…"

Keith stood and saluted, "Yes, sir."

"I owe you an apology as well. I've heard about all you've done. I was wrong about you. It's an honor and privilege to see you again."

"Thank you, sir. I guess I wasn't exactly the best cadet back then. I probably owe you a bit of an apology," Keith held out his hand, and Iverson took it.

Iverson leaned over and held his hand out to the wolf. "Ah, and who's this little fella?"

Kosmo sniffed and moved up under his touch leaning into him.

Coran said, "Oh, Kosmo likes you. But be careful. If you touch it, it could zap you to a different universe. Seriously."

Maya felt eyes gazing toward her. She looked over to see the man who drove one of the garrison's vehicles leaning up against one as he observed what was going on. She saw Keith gaze at the man who pulled off his helmet. He glared at the Black Paladin, but his gaze shifted toward her. He didn't say a word but faced forward, straightened up stalked away.

* * *

Shiro led Maya to his quarters. He wanted to get out of the Paladin armor, but with one arm he couldn't do it by himself. As he entered the room, he noticed that his furniture was dusted. The polish used mingled with smells of food cooking in the kitchen. He heard dishes clink together. He smiled, "Adam?" he called out.

He was greeted by a person who stood in the doorway. She was older but shorter. Shiro's mouth dropped open as his eyes grew wider, "Mom?"

She ran across the room and wrapped her arms around him, "Takashi," she cried as she held him tightly.

They held onto each other for several moments. As they released the first thing, she did was reach up to touch his hair. "Your, hair… it's so white." She brought her hand down to the scar across the bridge of his nose, "What happened to you?"

He smiled at her, "The hair is nothing. I'm not a vain man like some others here at the garrison. The scar…" He frowned. How could he tell her he got it as a prisoner of the Galra? Sadness reached his eyes as he gazed back at her face.

"You can tell me some other time," his mother said as she focused on the taller, blue-skinned alien who stood behind him. "Who's this?"

"This is Maya. Maya this is my mother, Mai Shirogane."

Maya froze for a moment, but she remembered her manners, "It's an honor to meet you," she replied softly.

Mai bowed to Maya, but her eyes moved back to her son. "I think you need to take a shower and get into some real clothes. But you'll need some help," as her eyes fell onto his missing arm.

"But—"

"No butts out of you, mister. I changed your diapers. I've seen everything you have."

* * *

Maya wondered into the kitchen seeing the pot on the stove. She walked over and picked up the nearby spoon and stirred it. She'd helped Hunk in the Castle of Lions so stirring a pot wouldn't be a hard thing.

She listened to the soft conversation coming from the bathroom. She was happy that Shiro had reunited with the woman who gave birth to him.

She couldn't stop the sadness that grew inside her. What happened to her father? Had he found the rest of her family? She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't realize the mother and son had walked back into the kitchen. Shiro wore his drab gray uniform with the sleeve for his Galra arm rolled up.

Mai sat the pair down at the table. She dished up three bowls of stew and placed one in front of Maya and the other in front of her son. She sat the third down and took her place at the table. "When Commander Holt said that you were coming home, I had to make your return as seamless as possible."

Maya listened to the pair talk as she took a bit of the stew. It probably was good, but she didn't taste it still lost in her own thoughts.

Mai steered the conversation to Maya, "How did you return home with this interesting looking girl in tow?"

Shiro read the unspoken question in his mother's voice. "No, I don't have romantic feelings. Maya saved my life, and she became a part of our little family while we were in space."

Maya focused on the conversation now that she was a part of it.

Mai nodded, "I can see that, but what about her own family."

Maya sucked in a breath and told his mother the story of how she rescued him from the beasts and how he saved her from Keith's fury thinking she was one of the creatures. And how once they got to the Castle of Lions how he took her under his wing.

Mai grabbed Maya by the hand, "I'm glad you were there for my son." An alarm went off, and Mai rose and slapped it. She turned to face her son and the Zenoxian. "Admiral Sanda has called for a debriefing, but Commander Iverson and Commander Holt talked her into giving you all a little time to settle in." She paused, "But first you need to see Adam."

* * *

Mai led Shiro and Maya to the Memorial Wall. "They gave their lives to try to keep Earth free."

Shiro approached the wall. His hand shook as he touched his ex-fiancé's picture. "Adam… I'm sorry," his voice cracked with emotion.

Maya placed a hand on his shoulder.

Mai spoke softly as she embraced her son. "He came to see me before the Galra showed up. He said he still loved you and wished you were home. By this time I was staying in your quarters here because I was asked to return by Commander Holt. Somehow he knew the Galra were coming even if Sanda chose to ignore his warnings."

Shiro broke as tears slid down his face, "I loved him too. I hoped he was here so I could ask him to take me back." His legs wouldn't hold him up anymore as he dropped to his knees, He leaned into his mother's small frame. He let out a keening wail of pain. "I should have been here," he whispered.

Mai rubbed her hand gently on her son's back. She needed to let him get it out. She blinked back tears of her own as she remembered the sham of a funeral they'd had for her son and the Holts. She took a breath, "You would have died too," she whispered.

If Admiral Sanda had shown up on her doorstep a year ago, she would have told the bitch to go to hell. But instead, it was Commander Holt. That had been a mind-blowing experience.

Maya wiped tears from her eyes knowing what Shiro was going through.

* * *

Keith and Commander Iverson walked toward the wall. Keith heard Shiro's wail before he saw him. Without a word, he ran toward the source of the sound. As he turned the corner, he saw his friend his brother on his knees hugging a small woman he recognized. Shiro's mother.

"Shiro," he called out as he picked up speed. As he stopped, he gazed between the two women, "Is he okay?"

Mai nodded, "He will be. He needed to know about Adam."

Keith knelt next to Shiro, "I know this isn't a good time, but Admiral Sanda is about to call out base security if we don't get to that debriefing." He glanced over at the wall and saw Adam's picture.

He raised his eyes to meet Mai's, "Adam, he's…" he let his voice trail off.

Mai nodded sadly.

Shiro wiped at his eyes, finally gaining some control. "I'm going to be okay," he sighed. "Adam said he wouldn't be here waiting when I got back, I-I had no idea it would be like this," he whispered.

With Maya's help, they got Shiro back on his feet. He glanced back at the wall one more time.

Commander Iverson cleared his throat. "It's because of them that Earth still has a chance." He glanced at his watch knowing that was a poor way of explaining it to Shiro. "It's time for our debriefing."

* * *

Commander Holt stood in front of a giant screen in the conference room. "Sendak's forces remain at bay, but without a meaningful supply line, we're slowly being suffocated."

Shiro gazed at Commander Holt, but Adam was still on his mind. "No one is putting up a fight against Sendak?"

Maya stood behind Shiro facing the MFE pilots on the other side of the room. She crossed her arms over her chest, she was going to stay by Shiro's side one way or another.

Lance's sister Veronica took over, "Small underground pockets of resistance have attempted to do so with varying degrees of success. Eventually, all were discovered and systematically wiped out. Earth's offensive capabilities simply don't stand a chance against the Galra."

Hunk leaned forward, "Why don't we bring more people into this base?"

Commander Holt replied, "We've had to put a halt on our extraction ops as they were proving to be too risky."

Hunk replied, "But there are good people out there. They could be protected. My family's out there."

Commander Holt truly saddened as he replied, "I'm sorry, Hunk."

"But if we have an opportunity now—"

One of the MFE pilots roared, "Hey, do Paladins not understand the chain of command? Your CO said it was too dangerous."

Commander Holt brought out his authoritative voice, "Officer Griffin, that's enough!" He turned back to the Yellow Paladin, "Believe me, I understand what you're going through, Hunk. We all have family out there, but we have to weigh our options. We can't lose ten people to save twelve. I'm sorry."

Allura stood, "Well, then let's find out what we can do. You've said you've integrated Altean tech with Earth weaponry?"

Commander Holt gave them a tour. They rode down an elevator to an underground hangar. They were given a view of military precision as people worked. Sam pointed out the fighters, "The Mecha-Flex-Exo fighters, or MFE's are extremely agile with advanced weaponry but are only capable of short-range attacks. Sustaining power with Altean-infused technology is an issue we're trying to overcome."

Coran bounced on his heels. "Maybe I can help you out with that. I do have some leftover Faunatonium. It's an Altean fuel additive, but also has some unexpected side effects, so do get any on you."

Commander Holt led them over to a much larger ship, "And this is our battleship. It's large enough to house all of the Lions and an entire command unit."

Admiral Sanda stared at it, "It's built, but it can't fly. Everyone there's a couple of subjects we can't avoid any longer. The first is the disposition of the alien named Maya. She's not military, and according to what we know she's underage."

Shiro's eyes narrowed, "She's not leaving. She stays."

Maya glanced between Shiro and the Admiral as another man stepped up, "I'd like to study her."

Keith glared, "You're not putting a finger on her." The team tightened ranks surrounding Maya.

Shiro shook his head. "I've been through your idea of an examination, remember?"

Sanda stared back at Shiro, "Then you will be her guardian." She turned to one of the men with her. "Contact, legal and have them draw up the paperwork." She narrowed her eyes as she glared back. "If something happens and it turns out that she's working for Sendak it's on your head."

"Now to the second item. Sendak attacked Earth because he wanted the Lions, and now they're here. It seems that we need to at least discuss our options."

Disbelief flashed over Shiro's face, "Are you suggesting that we willingly hand over the Lions to the Galra?"

"Our supplies are gone. We spent all our resources on a ship that doesn't fly. The weapons we do have are not enough to mount an attack. All we can do is protect a small pocket of Earth. But how much longer?"

Commander Holt stepped in, "The universe needs the Lions."

"So does Earth. They're our only bargaining chip."

A smaller man with glasses who could pass for a weasel or better, yet the admiral's personal bootlicker jumped in. "I agree with the admiral. Earth has been nearly destroyed. Countless citizens have been lost. But it could all be over if we give up the Lions."

Commander Iverson stood next to the Paladins, "We have a fighting chance now that the Lions have returned. We need to take it."

Allura glared back at Admiral Sanda, "I'll settle this argument right now. We're not giving up the Lions under any circumstances. There is no negotiating with Sendak."

Admiral Sanda shot back, "Maybe you should leave the matters of Earth to the people who live here."

Maya stared at the Admiral, "Maybe you should listen to someone who's world was overrun by the Galra." She pointed to herself. "My people were of no consequence to them, but they attacked anyway. Most of my people were slaughtered. My father somehow escaped but the rest of my family are still missing. I was captured by them. Tortured, and experimented on, but I managed to escape the same time Shiro did."

Admiral Sanda waved her hand dismissing anything the Zenoxian had to say.

Shiro took a step forward, "Please, Admiral. I respect that you'll do anything you can to protect Earth. But trust us, we've been through more than you can ever imagine. We have fought the Galra on the fringes of the universe and in their very home. I know there's a way to defeat Sendak."

"How? We barely know what we're up against. We need intelligence, and we just don't have it."

Allura replied, "Maybe we do." She turned to Sam, "That information you downloaded from the Castle of Lions contains Sendak's memories."

Sam asked, "How does that help?"

Pidge leaned toward her dad, "It might give us some insight into Sendak's plan. Allura, you're a genius."

Sam gazed at the Admiral. "We need some time."

* * *

Shiro with Maya in tow reported to Admiral Sanda's office.

She pushed the paper across the desk to Shiro. He signed his name on the paper and Maya wrote her name in Altean. Sanda frowned. She seemed to think it was a jab to get back at her.

Shiro stared at the Admiral for a moment before he threw the comment at her, "Maya has Altean blood in her veins."

He turned and led Maya out of the Admirals office. "Let's hurry," he shot over his shoulder at the Zenoxian. "Commander Holt wants to give us a tour of the Atlas."

* * *

Maya was awed at the size of the bridge. Admittedly it wasn't as big as the bridge of the Castle of Lions, but it was roomy just the same. Shiro stepped into the command area. Coran stood behind the helm, "I'm actually quite impressed, despite the obviously crude nature of Earth's technological capabilities."

Sam stood beside Coran, "It has a lot of potential, but I'm unable to recreate the power of a Balmerian crystal. Maybe your Faunatonium will work for this as well?"

"Afraid not. A ship this size might need two or three battleship-class Balmerian crystals."

Shiro glanced at Coran out of the corner of his eye, "I don't suppose there are any Balmera nearby?"

Coran tried to keep from laughing, "In this young galaxy?" He let out a quick chuckle. "Oh, yeah, it's right next to the Wizsplattle." He quickly calmed down. "That's a no. No Balmeras around here."

* * *

Shiro and Maya stepped into the lab to see Allura standing in front of something on the table. "You wanted to see me? I thought you were with Pidge and Sam."

"Sendak's memories were hard to hear. But it did remind me of something my father once said. He told me there were those with the power to destroy and those with the power to create." She moved out of the way so they could see the new arm that lay on the table.

Maya gasped as tears came to her eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Heart of the Lion and Trial by Fire

 **I don't own Voltron Legendary Defender. Just taking the characters out for a spin. The only characters I own are Maya the Zenoxian and Nimel the freedom fighter.**

Thanks to Puff the Ninja for letting me bounce ideas off her.

* * *

Maya met Keith in the hall, "I heard that Commander Holt will be attaching Shiro's new arm today."

The Black Paladin nodded, "Yeah," he replied.

Maya couldn't help but notice that he was quiet, more quiet than usual. "Is anything wrong?"

Keith stopped in the hall, "We should talk. I've noticed that you've been getting some attention from James Griffin, the leader of the MFE pilots."

Maya shrugged. "I've got a lot of attention. I guess humans have never seen someone like me before."

Keith chuckled, "That's putting it mildly," as a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "There's no easy way to tell you this but watch out for Griffin. He made my life here at the garrison hell. He took every opportunity to take a jab at me." He sighed, "I don't know if it was jealousy. And the way Admiral Sanda acted, well be careful."

Maya cocked her head as she stared at him, "What do you mean?"

Keith sighed again as he leaned against the wall. "I mean that James was a bully to the tenth degree. And everything he said to me, especially about my parents, well that's when I fought back. You could say he's part of the reason why I was kicked out of the garrison. I don't know if he's still the same way or not, but be on your guard around him."

Maya nodded. The pair continued down the hallway where they joined up with the other Paladins and Mai Shirogane as they stared through the glass as Shiro awakened from the anesthesia from the surgery to remove the Galran implant attached to his body and replace it with an interface that was Altean.

Commander Holt stepped toward him so Shiro could focus on a friendly face. "How are you feeling?"

"Good. I'm good."

"I'm happy to tell you we've successfully attached your new prosthetic arm. We need to power it on and make any final adjustments. We've outfitted it with the most powerful energy source Earth has to offer. It's the closest we could get to mimicking a Balmeran crystal's energy. It should generate enough power to operate most of it. The remaining power will be drawn from your body's electromagnetic field."

Maya watched in fascination as the new forearm rose and floated in the air. The fingers stretched, it rotated, and the hand curled into a fist. Pain shot through her head as Shiro screamed in the operating room.

Sam stared at the readout on the machine showing Shiro's vitals, "He's crashing! We have to shut it down!"

Mai slammed her fists on the glass, "No!" she cried.

Keith wrapped his arms around the smaller woman.

Allura without a word to anyone ran past them entering the OR. She leaped and grabbed the malfunctioning prosthetic. Holding it down she craned her head in Holt's direction, "Sam we need to remove the power source."

He got to his feet and rushed over pressing a spot on the arm. The cover to the compartment slid back. He pulled the chip out. Allura replaced it with the crystal from her tiara that she'd worn. The lid slid back into place.

It lit up with pure light. Shiro's vitals stabilized.

Maya's pain left her as Shiro's eyes opened. She followed the Paladins and Mai as they rushed into the OR.

Shiro's eyes opened, "What-What happened? I feel strange. I feel great."

Mai rushed over to him and wrapped her arms around her son grateful he was alive. She straightened up and on second thought she smacked him on his human shoulder, "Don't ever scare me like that again!"

Relieved laughter burst from the Paladins and Maya.

Commander Iverson found the Paladins in the OR. He carried a Cadet's uniform jacket. He cleared his throat getting their attention. "Admiral Sanda wants Maya to wear this," he said as he passed the coat over to Maya.

He turned to the others. "The Admiral has called for another briefing. She wants to know what you might have found from Sendak's memories."

Mai turned to face Iverson as her light brown eyes flashed with anger. "My son just got through with surgery, and she dares to call another so soon? You go tell that bitch that I said she can stuff herself into a rocket."

The Paladins had various expressions on their faces ranging from shock to smug satisfaction on Keith's.

Iverson's face flushed a bright pink. "I am sorry, but everything that's happened since the Kerberos mission was all her call."

Mai crossed her arms over her chest, "That I know, she's made a mess of everything. You and Commander Holt are better leaders than she is."

He coughed into his hand, "That might be why she's given Lieutenant Shirogane a promotion to Commander and placed the Paladins and Maya under his command."

Shiro sat up and stared at Iverson, "She couldn't have. She's the one who said that Maya wasn't military."

Iverson shook his head. "I have no idea what's going on in her head. I just came to deliver the message. She wants you all there on the double."

Maya glanced around finally noticing someone was missing. "I haven't seen Nimel around. Where is she?"

Iverson gazed at the Zenoxian, "She's teaching some classes on rebel combat tactics."

Maya glanced between him and Shiro, "Why can't I do something?"

As Shiro stood he gazed at her, "We'll talk about this later. Admiral Sanda doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Mai folded her arms over her chest and glared at Iverson, "I don't give a rat's ass what the bitch wants. She can wait until hell freezes over for all I care."

Shiro gazed at his mother shock clearly on his face. He'd forgotten how fierce she could be, "MOM!"

Keith lost it as he doubled over in laughter pointing at Shiro. Lance and Hunk were beside themselves in mirth. Pidge just stared at Shiro. "Now, I know where you get it from. I thought Keith was joking,"

Shiro's face reddened. He'd forgotten the times where he'd gone on a cussing spree at the Galra.

Mai stared proudly at everyone in the room. "He's an adult now."

* * *

Allura and Pidge stood at the end of the conference room's table closest to the large screen. Pidge cleared her throat quickly to cover the snigger that came to mind over Shiro's mother's outburst about Admiral Sanda earlier. Calmed down she started, "We've learned so much from Sendak's memories."

Allura took over, "We discovered his methods for taking over planets like Earth. Sendak constructs armaments at key strategic points around planets. This gives him the ability to control enormous swaths of territory. He uses the armaments as deterrents to prevent any uprisings and to control conquered populations."

Veronica spoke up, "Based on data from Commander Holt's micro-satellites, cross-referenced with resistance intel, we've ascertained that Sendak built six massive structures on Earth. We never knew what they were being used for until now."

Hunk asked, "They're the weapons? What's stopping us from blowing them up?"

Admiral Sanda leaned forward, "We don't have enough firepower to do the jobs. And even if we did, there's a good chance those facilities contain civilians. We can't just go in blind."

For the first time since his return to Earth Shiro agreed, "Admiral Sanda's right. That's why we should infiltrate a base and gather intelligence first."

Veronica gazed at her computer screen, "The nearest base is fifty-two klicks south of our position."

Shiro asked, "What's the terrain like?"

Veronica clicked a button on her personal computer. "The region around what we'll call Base One is a complex urban environment. Our route will take us through highly patrolled areas. It'll be hard to keep proper surveillance of our surroundings due to all the structural damage."

Shiro clicked a button on his screen. "Then I suggest we form two teams, a ground unit that will attempt to infiltrate Base One and get eyes on whatever's inside, and a sniper team that observes from a higher position, covering the ground unit and providing some visibility."

Veronica nodded, "Use communications sparingly. Stay on the move, Keep an eye on the timing patterns of the patrol drones. Pidge, Keith, Allura, Maya and Griffin your ground unit. Hunk, Kinkade, Lance, and I will be sniper support."

Admiral Sanda jumped to her feet, "Absolutely not! That creature," she pointed at Maya, "is not going on this mission."

Shiro and the other Paladins jumped up out of their seats. "Must I remind you, Admiral," Shiro began, "You made me her guardian. Maya has skills that no one here has."

Sanda growled, "Very well." A gleam came to her eye. "Mr. Griffin, if she so much as acts like she's contacting the enemy you have my permission to shoot to kill."

Keith doubled up his fists as he leaned forward ready to spring, "You can't do that!"

Sanda smirked, "I just did."

* * *

Keith said, "Approaching target location."

Veronica's voice came over the comms, "Copy that, ground unit. We've got eyes on you."

Maya, Keith, Pidge, Allura, Kosmo, and Griffin entered a tunnel that led down into a sewage area under the city.

They heard Lance's voice through their helmets, "Drone patrol ahead." Keith put a hand to Kosmo's back, and the wolf stopped.

Once the drones passed, they continued. As they traversed through the tunnels, they came out into what was once an underground tunnel for traffic which was near Base One. They moved as close as they could get without alerting the guards. They crept behind a broken wall. Keith said, "This is as close as we're gonna get. Pidge and I are going in."

Griffin replied, "Negative. The route's obstructed. It's too well guarded."

Keith ignored the cadet. "Lance, you ready to cover us when we get inside?"

"Ready to go."

Maya almost laughed at Griffin's expression as the wolf, Keith, and Pidge disappeared in front of them."

Allura by way of explanation said, "It's a cosmic wolf."

Griffin said, "I've got to get me one of them."

Kinkade came over the comms, "I've got movement to the north. Drones are closing in on your positions from an adjacent alley."

Maya readied her chakram.

Allura said, "We've been spotted."

Kinkade replied, "Hang tight." He took out three drones, but that drew the attention of the sentries to their position.

Maya stood and threw her chakram and ducked back behind the wall. The chakram cut through three of the closet sentries. She timed it perfectly. She stood again and caught the weapon. She ducked back down behind the wall.

Griffin glanced at the weapon in her hand.

Maya smirked as she replied, "Let me guess, you need one of these too?"

He nodded. As more sentries began to arrive, he directed his comment to the sniper team, "I think you guys made them angry."

Veronica replied, "I've got five hostiles minus the three Maya took out."

Between Kinkade and Lance, they took out the other five sentries.

Maya smiled as she heard Veronica needle her brother about Allura.

Allura spotted another group of sentries heading their way, "Lance, Kinkade, more sentries incoming."

Maya threw her chakram taking out three more sentries, but the destroyed machines were replaced by three more.

They kept fighting until Veronica detonated the chaff which thankfully screwed up the sentries and drones ability to zero in on their targets. Veronica spoke quickly, "Rendezvous at your cruisers. We only have a couple of minutes until the sentries gain vision again."

Keith, Pidge, and Kosmo appeared behind Griffin, Allura, and Maya. "Let's move out," the Black Paladin said.

* * *

Back at the garrison, they returned for another briefing. Maya glared at Admiral Sanda. A thought came to mind that maybe the reason the Admiral distrusted her so much was because of her height, but if that was the case not many of the garrison people were put off by that. But she'd rectify that problem when she could so she wouldn't freak out anyone. As far as she knew no one had said anything about her shapeshifting capabilities. Sanda would consider her a threat then.

Pidge stood at the head of the table in front of the giant screen on the wall and brought up the image of a weapon that Maya recognized as did the other Paladins and Coran. "Sendak has built Zaiforge cannons. Our intel indicates the cannons were just completed. They could launch at any time."

Iverson asked, "What exactly is a Zaiforge cannon?"

Keith replied, "Planet killers. If these cannons launch and are fully charged, Sendak will be able to destroy Earth in seconds."

Veronica glanced around the room, "So what do we do?"

Keith knew what he had to say next would ruffle some feathers, but it had to be addressed. "Ideally, we attack all six bases at once, allowing them no time to stage a counterattack."

Admiral Sanda replied, "That's not possible."

Keith gazed at her, "If we had our Lions, it could be. We'll have to find another way to retrieve them since the ship we rode in on crashed."

Sanda seemed to be deliberately trying to start an argument. "Your Lions are orbiting another planet. There's no way to get you to them. Plus there are only five Lions."

Shiro replied, "MFE's would need to attack the sixth cannon."

Griffin spoke up for the pilots, "We'd love to, but they don't have that kind of range."

Coran interjected himself into the conversation, "There should be enough faunatonium to boost the MFE's to the sixth base and back."

Pidge replied, "That's great, and all, but Admiral Sanda has a point. We can't get to our Lions."

Maya felt Shiro's thoughts, but she tried to concentrate when she felt eyes on her. She looked up, and Griffin winked at her.

Shiro stood getting the entire rooms attention, "You don't need to go to them. They'll come to you. As Paladins of Voltron, you can connect with your Lions. They will come."

Hunk looked up, "From Saturn?"

Shiro turned toward him, "From anywhere. You've been training for this since the very beginning. Each of you has forged a bond with your Lions. Tap into it."

One of the officers at the table scoffed, "Sounds like a fairytale. Your talking about machines. How are machines going to come to Earth?"

Lance glared at him, "They might be machines, but you don't understand, they're also sentient." He leaned forward in his chair, "Our Lions did come to us when we were lost in space."

Keith added, "And Red saved my life numerous times."

Allura thought about it for a moment, "Yes, it's possible." She looked up at Shiro, "So we'll call the Lions to meet us here."

Pidge tapped her fingers on the table, "We'll need the element of surprise. The Lions will have to rendezvous with us at the bases."

Hunk made a popping noise with his mouth, "Yeah that will catch the Galra off guard. I mean assuming our Lions respond to our calls. What if they don't come?"

Shiro replied, "They'll come. And when they do, you will strike and destroy all six cannons simultaneously before they can be launched. And when the job is done, you can form Voltron and finish off Sendak and the rest of his forces."

Griffin took a step forward, "My pilots can transport four of you to the Galra bases before heading out to the sixth canon."

Veronica added, "I'll bring Lance to Base One. It's the closest, so I can do it by ground."

Shiro replied, "It's settled then. While Veronica drops Lance at Base One, the MFE's will each fly a Paladin out to a base. The Paladins should reach the drop zones at the same time the Lions arrive. Then the MFE's will head to the sixth base. We'll launch a coordinated attack on all six locations at once."

* * *

Maya joined all the Paladins on the tarmac. She hugged them all, "You are my family," she said as moisture gathered in her eyes. "Return safely."

"We will," Keith replied gently. "Take care of Kosmo for me."

A giggle bubbled up out of her, "You've finally accepted him as Kosmo."

Keith shrugged, "Maybe, but he'll listen to you and Romelle."

Maya watched as the MFE's and Veronica's cruiser all left the base.

Shiro wrapped his human arm around Maya's waist and led her back inside the garrison's command building. Once inside the command center, he set her down in an empty seat as he contacted the team. "Paladins, our window of opportunity is razor thin. With the element of surprise, we'll have the advantage. Good luck."

* * *

Maya focused on Lance. He was the most vulnerable. She jerked, the movement caught Iverson's attention. "What's going on with her?"

Shiro gazed at Iverson, "She has an empathic connection with Keith, Lance, and me."

Iverson nodded he gazed at the main screen, "Four of the five Paladins have reached their drop zones. Just waiting on Lance."

Shiro stared at the screen, "Lance, where are you? Can you hear me?"

Maya gasped, "The Galra attacked Lance and Veronica."

Shiro knelt in front of her, "Are he and Veronica okay?"

Maya smiled at him, "Yes, the Red Lion has arrived."

Iverson chuckled, "That's a nice skill to have."

Shiro shook his head. "No, it's a double-edged sword. If they're in pain, she can feel it." He didn't mention how she'd more than likely felt him die in his battle with Zarkon. He didn't want to think about that and pushed the memory to the back of his mind.

Iverson announced, "We have all Lions! It worked!"

Maya stood up as they listened to communications, "No! No, the Galra knew."

Shiro came to the same conclusion as Sam Holt stood off to the side. "They were ready for us!"

The Zaiforge cannons fired and Keith ordered the MFE's to return to the garrison. He ordered the Paladins to form Voltron, but they were caught in the beam from all six cannons.

Maya stumbled and collapsed between Shiro and Iverson. "They're alive but knocked out," she reported to her guardian.

Sam asked, "Where did those shots come from?"

Coran replied, "The Zaiforge cannons. Sendak was ready for the attack the entire time. How?"

Commander Holt looked around but didn't see who he was looking for. He asked the junior officer Curtis who was operating the nearest station, "Where is Admiral Sanda."

"Sir, she's been gone since our mission briefing."

Shiro called out, "Paladins, are you there?" Static answered him. "Paladins, do you copy? Keith? Anyone?" Static was his only response. He gazed at Sam, "Commander Holt, what weapons do we have available?"

"Fusion Cannons, but the fleet is out of range."

"What about the MFE's?"

"The mission depleted their power. They're changing now."

Coran gazed at the former Black Paladin, "Shiro, even with the MFE's, Sendak has an entire fleet."

"We need to get them back! We have to do something. What about the Atlas?"

Sam replied, "We've had little success launching it."

Shiro called out, "Veronica, monitor the fleet. Let us know if there are any changes."

"Yes, sir."

Shiro looked to the others, "Come on, let's get that ship off the ground."

* * *

Shiro looked at Coran, "Anything?"

Coran frowned, "Not yet. We can shut down all essential systems and use an external source to fire one engine."

Sam shook his head, "We tried that. It wasn't enough power."

Coran replied, "What about the crystals from the MFE's?"

Sam asked, "You think that will work?"

Coran replied, "Actually, no, scratch that. Far too small." Coran thought for a moment, "You don't happen to have any Nunville, do you?"

Sam asked, "Nunville?"

Maya reached into her pocket and pulled out the medal they had awarded her after Zarkon was defeated when Shiro disappeared. It had a tiny crystal in it. She held it out to Coran, "Would this help?"

Coran shook his head, "It's a nice thought, but we need a crystal at least a hundred times larger than that."

Veronica came over the comm, "I'm detecting movement from the Zaiforge cannons."

Iverson asked, "Where are they headed?"

"Based on our projections… They are converging above our location!"

* * *

Shiro gazed at Coran, "Even with all the power we've allocated to it. The particle barrier will never hold against a Zaiforge cannon."

Coran snapped his fingers together, "Wait, that's it. We can direct power from the shield generators to the Atlas."

Sam replied, "The base would be unprotected, but it's possible. And it might work."

Shiro asked, "How much time do we have before the Zaiforge cannons arrive?"

Veronica replied, "By our calculations less than two hours."

"We have to hurry."

Sam closed his eyes agreeing silently with Shiro's plan of action. His eyes opened, "Veronica transfer all data from mission control to the Atlas."

"Yes, sir."

Sam turned to Iverson, "Get all personnel aboard this ship immediately. Even noncombatants."

Iverson saluted, "Yes, sir!"

Shiro turned to Maya, "Help direct the noncombatants aboard. Especially my mother."

Maya saw others salute. She lifted the correct arm and saluted him, "Yes, sir."

She ran through the Atlas, a smile pulling at her lips. Finally, she was doing something. She had specific people to look for besides Mrs. Shirogane. There was Lance's family and Mrs. Holt.

Maya being taller than the average human saw Mrs. Holt and waved at her as she saw Lance's family who looked a little lost. She approached Colleen Holt, "Go on board. Commander Holt has someone waiting onboard to show you where to go."

As Colleen moved up the ramp, Maya saw Shiro's mother behind the McClains. Maya hurried over and pointed to the ramp where crates were being carried up the ramp, "We need to get you on board," she told the McClains.

Lance's father gazed up at her, "Your Maya. Lance has spoken of you."

Maya's cheeks grew hot. "Lance has talked about of all you the whole time we were in space. He missed all of you so much."

Lance's mother smiled in return as she got her family gear.

Mai approached where Maya stood. Maya turned to face the much smaller woman. "Mrs. Shirogane, I'm to make sure you get onboard."

Mai rolled her eyes. "My son and his good intentions. Sometimes he worries too much." She strode past Maya and walked up the ramp.

Maya saw Nimel in the press of people, "Nimel," she waved. "Help me get all these people on the Atlas, okay?"

Nimel nodded.

* * *

Sam's voice came from engineering, "We're all set. I'm ready to divert power from the barrier generators."

Coran replied, "Copy that. We're ready to receive."

Sam replied, "We've got it. It's charged."

"Shiro asked, "Is everyone aboard?"

Iverson replied, "The garrison's cleared. We're all in."

"Prepare for launch." Shiro pointed Maya to a seat behind Iverson.

The Atlas started to rise, but it lost power and sank back to the cradle that held the giant warship. Shiro whispered, "No."

Sam railed as he complained to himself, but it was heard on the bridge. He'd forgot to close the communication channel. "I've built a ship that's useless. It would take the power of several super-massive black holes to get this hunk of junk off the ground."

Coran brightened, "That's it! Why didn't I think of this before? Of course! Black Holes! Infinite mass!" He said as he reached into the uniform jacket he wore and pulled out the diamond created from the destruction of the Castle of Lions. "It was always right here!"

A smile began to tug at the corners of Shiro's mouth. "Commander Holt, you're going to want to see this."

* * *

Sam held a portable scanner in his hands, "The energy coming off this is incredible."

Coran replied, "The crystal was created after the destruction of the Castle of Lions. It's an amalgamation of the Quintessence Field collapsing from the infinite mass and Altean magic into this tiny thing."

Sam replied, "We need to get it hooked up to the Atlas immediately." The floor opened, and a chamber came up out of the floor. "This is where I originally planned to place a Balmeran crystal. It serves as the brain of the Atlas. We're gonna have to figure out some way to accommodate for the difference in size."

The crystal on its own volition flew into the container. Instantly power flowed throughout the ship.

Sam's mouth dropped open, and he shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe it. It's amazing."

Veronica turned in her chair, "Subsystems are fully powered."

The dark-skinned man sitting across from Shiro said, "Megathrusters are go!"

"Veronica, Monitor the radars, let us know what you see," Shiro ordered. "Commander Iverson, I need you on the large weapons, Maya on the small weapons. And Coran, get the helm."

Coran stood up straight, pride in his stance as he saluted enthusiastically, "Yes, Captain!"

Shiro stunned gazed around meeting gazes with the bridge crew. Sam stood behind him, "The bridge is yours."

Shiro's lips upturned as his dark gray eyes held a glint, "We could use an engineer."

Sam saluted, "Yes, sir."

Veronica said, "Captain, the Galra fleet is directly over the launch pad."

Shiro thought quickly and made a quick decision, "MFE Squadron, we need you to clear a path. The Atlas is powered and ready for launch. Crew prepare for launch!"

Griffin replied, "Welcome to the battle, IGF Atlas! Clearing a path for you now!"

The Atlas rose up into the air from its Earthly tethers.

Shiro said, "Iverson, how are the weapons systems coming?"

Iverson replied, "Still working on them."

Veronica turned in her chair, "Sir, Sendak appears to be positioning to strike from above."

Shiro nodded, "Shields at the ready."

"Yes, sir."

Iverson said, "We have an ionic discharger online."

An almost feral grin came on Shiro's face. "Lock on that cruiser. Fire when ready."

The big gun on the Atlas fired taking out the cruiser Shiro indicated.

Veronica called out, "Galra cruisers are taking up positions around us."

The Atlas was rocked from several hits from the Galran warships.

Sam's voice came from engineering, "We have a problem in the main engine! The dynotherm connections are weakening."

Shiro said, "Commander?"

Iverson replied, "I'm hitting them with everything we've got, but there are just too many of them."

"Sam, what other weapons does this ship have?"

"I'm not sure. Once we added the crystal, this ship gained abilities I never imagined."

Veronica called over her shoulder, "We've got incoming. Wait they're friendly!"

Coran nearly whooped in joy when he reminded himself. He was a royal advisor. "The Lions! They've escaped!"

Maya smiled.

Cheers went up around the bridge as the Lions attacked the Galra ships surrounding them.

Coran cried out, "Ah! Excellent!"

Shiro couldn't keep the joy out of his voice, "Paladins, welcome to the fight! Let's go take out Sendak's cruiser."

Pidge's voice was heard over the comms, "Wait! We're still on that ship! Well, our bodies are."

Shiro smiled, "Amazing," he whispered. "We got ourselves some breathing room. Let's make it count."

Maya turned toward her guardian, "Midrange guns have come online."

"Fire!" Shiro ordered.

Several fighters were taken out along with a couple of cruisers.

The battle continued to rage on.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Lions Pride Part 1 and Lions Pride Part 2

I don't own Voltron Legendary Defender. Just taking the characters out for a spin. The only characters I do own are Maya the Zenoxian and Nimel the Rebel Fighter.

Thanks again to Puff the Ninja for letting me bounce ideas off of her.

* * *

The Paladins formed Voltron. Shiro couldn't help but smile, "Welcome back to the fight, Paladins."

Maya stifled the laugh but smiled as Hunk's voice came over the comm's. "It's good to be back. You know, in our bodies."

Shiro needed to check in with his second line of the defense, "MFE pilots, what's your status?"

Griffin replied, "Power is dropping."

"Return to the Atlas and recharge."

"Copy that."

* * *

The Galra turned their guns and fighters onto the Atlas and Voltron.

Shiro saw what the Galra were up to, "Coran, adjust our heading to narrow our surface area for incoming attacks. Maya, use the midrange guns on any Galra that gives you a target. Commander Holt, what's the status of those Zaiforge cannons?"

"According to their projected trajectories they've started moving together, but their convergent point is…"

"Sam? Sam? What is it?"

"I know what Sendak is doing. He's going to converge the beams to make one large amplified emission of particle radiation."

Shiro asked, "Is that even possible?"

"Yes, I know because I gave them the technology. When I was enslaved, the Galra had me working on particle emission amplification. I'm sending you the Zaiforge cannons movements. This is a simulation I've run based on their current trajectory. It leads to a single point in space. Once they're in position, their beams will merge, exponentially increasing their destructive force. It will be powerful enough to vaporize Earth completely."

* * *

As Keith decided to go after Sendak's ship Voltron was struck in the back by a beam from Earth.

Maya was startled as Kosmo suddenly appeared next to her. He leaned against her and whined. She gave his head a quick stroke to comfort him. Somehow, he knew what was going on. She put one hand under his head holding his chin in her hand as she stroked his head a second time. "Go to Romelle," she told the wolf. He whined again making his displeasure known, but he vanished again.

Coran craned his head around, "We can't get to Sendak!"

Veronica said, "Voltron is pinned down!"

Shiro frowned, "Griffin, what's your team's status?"

"The MFE's are nearly charged. Whatever's powering the Atlas is incredible."

"We need you back in the fight. Head to the coordinates I'm sending you and take out those surface-to-air cannons."

"Yes, sir."

Veronica said, "We've sustained damage on our starboard bow!"

Shiro seemed to be assaulted from all sides with information that he had to digest quickly to formulate a plan of action. His hands gripped the rail.

Iverson craned his head, "Aft cannons are recharging. Holding tight at forty-five percent."

Sam seemed to be the purveyor of bad news, "The Zaiforge cannons are almost in position. By my calculations, we're not going to get Sendak in time."

Shiro frowned, "Paladins, you have to stop your attack."

"What?"

"Abort your attack or Earth will be destroyed."

As Voltron evaded a couple of attacks from the surface-to-air cannons, Lance spoke up. "What's going on?"

Shiro replied, "The Atlas will continue to attack Sendak while the MFE's attempt to take out the ground cannons. But just in case that doesn't work, we'll need you to stop the Zaiforge cannons directly."

Maya heard Shiro's whispered, "Good luck, Paladins." She added her prayers to his wish.

Griffin reported in. "Atlas, canon one is neutralized. Moving on to the next target."

The Atlas rocked from more blasts from the Galra cruisers in Sendak's fleet. Sam said, "We have a fire in the plasma alternator. Activating fire suppressors."

Shiro took in a deep breath. He needed a complete update on the Atlas. "What's the status of the shielding system?"

"I'm trying."

"Keep working. Coran adjusts our heading to five point three eight."

The Atlas took a hard hit. Shiro ordered, "Full ordinance! Starboard side!"

"Munitions to starboard," Iverson called out as he gave Maya quick instructions as to which side was starboard.

She nodded.

Shiro glared as he called out, "Coran bearings seven point two." As the Atlas came around, he hollered, "Fire!"

Maya and Iverson both stabbed at the firing buttons.

Iverson crowed, "Galra cruiser, destroyed!"

Shiro's brows stitched together as he frowned. "More cruisers incoming we can't handle many more blasts."

Veronica let out a startled yelp. "Wait, the shielding system…"

"What is it?"

"It's coming online! Shielding successful!"

"We've got a little breathing room," Shiro said to himself. "How much time before the Zaiforge cannons fire?"

Sam replied from engineering, "Any second now. The Lions have the plates in position, but those plates were designed to reflect a short burst. They won't hold a sustained blast for long."

Shiro grits his teeth together as he tried to come up with a solution. The idea he came up might be crazy, but it was the only thing he could think of at the moment. "Then we need to take out Sendak now. Sam, what if someone were to infiltrate Sendak's ship, and gain access to its crystal? Could the cannons be disrupted?"

"Infiltrate Sendak's ship?"

Shiro asked, "Would it work?"

Maya knew who he was referring to, himself. She fought to keep herself calm, he was always putting himself in danger for the greater good, but this time she saw that it was needed.

Sam replied, "It could work, but you need a communication device to link to the Atlas so we can hack their system."

Shiro nodded. "Then that's what we'll do. I'm going in." He shifted his attention to the Altean, "Coran, the ship is yours. Get the Atlas to the impact site. We need to be prepared for every outcome."

* * *

Maya sat at her weapons control. She knew she was under Coran's command, but she'd rather that Shiro had taken her with him. But she needed to help his people save this planet.

The shields the lions were using to block the beams, exploded.

Veronica said, "We've intercepted the beam, but we need more power!"

Coran called out, "Paladins! Paladins, are you there?" He called out again, "Shiro, I can't reach the Paladins and the Atlas can't hold this beam much longer! Whatever you're gonna do, can you do it now?"

Maya got a glimpse of the purple crystal in her mind. "Sam, I've made it to the crystal. Activating communication transponder." She heard him say in her mind.

She couldn't hear the rest of the conversation, but she saw his new arm float up to the crystal and touch it. Pain arced through her body as she felt everything that Shiro felt. Her connection with Shiro darkened. She almost panicked, it was almost like when Shiro died. But she felt him still with her. He was knocked out for a few moments.

Iverson's voice brought Maya back to her surroundings, the bridge of the Atlas. "One of the cannons is down."

Veronica replied, "That just bought us time, but we still can't withstand the blast from the other cannons much longer. The shield is failing! Twenty-four percent and dropping!"

Sam's voice came from the engine room, "I'm diverting power from the infinite Mass crystal."

Veronica did the only thing she could think of. "Paladins, hurry! Lance!"

* * *

The Atlas rocked from another blast. Veronica said, "The Lions have defeated all the cannons."

"Atlas, this is Griffin. MFE's have successfully neutralized our final target."

Veronica brightened, "The only remaining hostile is Sendak's ship. It's free-falling toward Earth's surface. It's hit terminal velocity."

Maya jerked in her seat. She didn't see anyone on the bridge. Instead, she saw Sendak and felt Shiro's determination. "Shiro is fighting Sendak." She felt him hit the ground hard as the ship was deposited on the ground by the Lions. She blinked as her eyes saw what Shiro saw, Sendak steps out of the cloud of dust raised by the warship.

She swallowed hard as his mouth moved, she could see what he said, "Victory or Death." She heard the growl of a Lion, and there was the Black Lion overhead, and Keith dropped out to end Sendak's life with a sweep of his bayard.

She was brought back to the Atlas bridge by Coran's comment to Keith. "And we'll be by your side!"

Maya's eyes focused on the new threat. An enemy mech She fired the mid-range guns at the enemy mech.

Maya could almost see the smile on the image of Allura in her mind as the Princess spoke, "Good to have you back, Atlas."

The mech fired in response to the attack from the Atlas. It's beam cut through the particle barrier as if it were nothing and struck the Atlas.

Veronica replied, "We've taken a direct hit. It's aligning for a second attack."

Keith's voice came over the comm, "Atlas, we need you to hold the beast off temporarily, so we have time to form Voltron. It's the only way we're gonna beat this thing."

"Affirmative," Coran replied.

Maya and Iverson pummeled the beast with weapons fire.

The beast launched itself into the air to follow the lions but countered that decision with a quick mid-air turn and fired in response to the Atlas's attack.

Iverson grunted from the shaking of the ship, "Coran, what's our next move?"

Coran frowned and glanced at the human, "Oh! This ship is so different from the Castle of Lions. I… uh—"

The door to bridge opened and Shiro rushed out of the elevator, "Coran, hold course."

The ginger-haired Altean sighed as his eyes slid shut for a moment. He craned his head around, "Thank the ancients you're here."

Iverson asked, "Captain, are okay?"

Shiro knew he needed to bolster his bridge crew, "I'll be fine. Shields report."

Veronica craned her head slightly in his direction, "They're at seventy percent."

Maya bit down on her bottom lip. She knew Shiro was in pain. Her lungs constricted, making it hard for her to breathe. She pinched her lips tight. If Shiro could ignore his pain, then she was determined to ignore her own and help protect his home from this new threat.

"Iverson, Maya, the port side cannons?" Shiro asked.

Iverson was quick to reply, "They're fully charged."

"Shields down. Fire!"

The beast blocked the cannons and deflected the beams to strike back hitting the Atlas.

Maya heard the strain in Sam's voice from engineering, "We lost an energy inverter on two cannons. Diverting power."

The beast charged at the Atlas. However, Voltron hit the creature and knocked it into the ground. Keith's voice came over the communication channel. "Thanks for covering for us, Atlas."

Shiro's shoulders were pushed back as his chest jutted out, "Coran take us up to covering fire position. Iverson, Maya, once those cannons come back online, we need to give Voltron some support."

Voltron formed dual swords. The beast and the Voltron faced each other, neither giving an inch when Voltron charged the creature. The two powerful mechs fought. The Robeast knocked the Altean mech's swords out of its grip sending the weapons flying.

The shield formed, but the beast was able to knock it away as it beat Voltron into the ground. It drove the swords into Voltron's shoulders as it drained the mighty warrior's quintessence.

Maya's body ached, but she refused to give in to the pain even though it was becoming difficult for her to breathe. She was determined not to give in to the growing pain.

Her eyes focused on the view from below. She barely heard Shiro's order to launch fighters.

The blasts of weapons fire coming from the MFE's merely bounced off the beast. But they were enough of a distraction for the Green Lion to hit it with a powerful beam blasting the creature away.

Shiro nearly begged for a response, "Paladins, what happened? Are you okay?"

Maya hunched over in her chair. She knew how Lance and Keith felt at that moment but couldn't bring voice to it.

Hunk sounded exhausted as he spoke, "Those blades, they sapped our energy."

Pidge added, "It felt like the Komar."

The MFE's continued their attack.

Keith's voice came over the comm's, "Pilots, ball back. Those blasts can vaporize you."

Shiro nodded then realized the others couldn't see him, "Keith's right. You've successfully drawn its fire. Rendezvous with the Atlas ASAP."

Griffin replied, "Roger that."

Veronica craned her head around again, "The enemy has turned it's attention back to Voltron, sir."

Shiro ground his teeth. "Sam, how are those cannons?"

"Coming back online."

Shiro yelled, "Fire!" as he slammed his fist down on the rail that surrounded his station.

The weapons fire hit the beast shoving back away from Voltron. It threw its weapon at the Atlas. Shiro yelled, "Shields!" The weapon hit the shield and exploded rocking the Atlas and taking down its particle barrier.

The beast opened an aperture in its chest. A purple beam shot out striking the human warship.

Sam's report wasn't the news Shiro wanted to hear at that moment, "It's destabilized the molecular reflection arrays!"

Shiro ran his hand over his face and gave the order no one wanted to hear, "Pull out of range!"

Coran didn't like it, but he followed Shiro's order.

The crew of the Atlas watched as Voltron fought the beast in the sky.

Iverson called out, "We can't get a clear shot!"

Veronica replied, "Rebooting shields! Five minutes out!"

Sam's voice from engineering called out, "Rerouting power."

The beast knocked Voltron out of the sky and pinned it to the ground by its swords.

Shiro desired no needed some good news, "What's our status?"

Coran replied, "Stabilizing thrusters are gone. I'm attempting to override."

Iverson's news wasn't much better, "The cannons are offline again, all of them."

Sam replied, "Initializing backup generators."

The viewscreen came back to life. Shiro was confronted by the beast with Voltron pinned under it. "No," he whispered.

Voltron lay there on the ground lifeless. The turned and fired it's beam striking the Atlas again.

Shiro became unresponsive as he brought a shaky hand to his forehead. Everyone on the bridge and Sam was bombarding him with reports.

Maya wanted to scream at everyone to just shut up and let him get his bearings, but then she felt it and almost heard it. It was terrifically terrifying as if the Atlas were becoming sentient like the Voltron Lions. Her eyes grew.

The control area glowed as the Atlas talked to Shiro. "Bring us up— Set coordinates for the upper atmosphere."

Coran craned his head around, "But Voltron."

Shiro ignored Coran's protest. "Commander Holt, I need all the power we've got."

"Copy that."

Something about Shiro's reply stirred Coran into dropping his complaint and doing what he was told.

"Atlas crew. Hold tight."

The Atlas transformed into a gigantic mech-warrior dwarfing both Voltron and the Robeast below. "Paladins, are you there? What's your status?" It landed on the ground and stood above Voltron.

Keith replied, "We're here. How did you?"

"I'm not exactly sure. But we've got you covered."

Veronica replied, "Hostile returning for another pass."

Shiro said, "Get me eyes on the target."

The beast attacked the Atlas which was sluggish is it's movements against it's the smaller nimbler adversary.

The paladins got Voltron back on its feet again, and that's when Keith saw it. The vulnerable spot. Voltron formed the sword, and the hyperspace engines appeared on the mech's back. Voltron shot forward and shoved the sword into the beast's chest. The resulting energy blast caused the lions to split apart.

After several minutes the bridge crew of the Atlas watched as the Lions carried the beast up into the atmosphere as far from Earth as possible. The gave it one last push, and the creature exploded sending the Lions crashing to Earth.

Maya couldn't catch her breath as blackness overtook her.

* * *

Maya's eyes fluttered open as she found herself in a bed and her eyes focused on the screen mounted to the wall. She heard Shiro's voice as she stared at the sight of him in his drab gray uniform with the Lions arranged sitting behind him.

She heard his voice. "Today is a solemn day. Today we look back at the lives that were lost, and the sacrifices that were made here on Earth and across the universe. There isn't one of us here today who haven't experienced the tragedy of losing someone close. It truly feels like a light has gone out in our lives and the sun itself couldn't reignite it. But that light, that fire, has not gone out completely. It is fueled within each of us by the memories and the love of those we've lost. And now we must move forward in their names and shine that light onto a new path for future generations.

"Today is a solemn day, but it is also a day of hope. Earth is now stronger than ever, and it stands as a beacon of light to help those fighting against tyranny and oppression. From here, we will spread peace and together we will hold strong… as the defenders of the universe."

A soft smile tugged at Maya's lips as she closed her eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Aftermath

I don't own Voltron Legendary Defender. Just taking the characters out for a spin.

This came to mind because of a conversation between Puff the Ninja and me. I felt the end to this needed a little bit of humor because of the last two episodes of Season 7.

* * *

Maya's eyes opened as warmth wrapped around her hand. She struggled to focus as her head turned toward the source of the heat. She gazed up to see her father sitting in the chair beside her.

"Father?" her voice croaked out of her throat.

"Don't talk," Ozar replied. "I've spoken to the doctors here. They say you're getting better. They said you were brought in with pneumonia. Commander Holt assures me that it's a side effect of the stem cell transplant, but it was brought on by all the stress you've been under."

She opened her mouth, but Ozar held up his forefinger, "Rest, my daughter. Kynon and Myal wanted to see you, but I told them not now. It's your job to get back on your feet."

She nodded as Ozar stood and pressed his lips to her forehead. "I need to go. Commander Holt needs me to find some Balmera who are willing to trade us some Balmeran crystals." He chuckled. "Humans are fascinating. The man wants to make sure his shield generators will create a planet-wide shield in place. I'll return when we get back."

* * *

Nimel watched as many different aliens met with the leaders of the Galaxy Garrison. She found it hard to hold back a chuckle over Slav insisting on shaking Veronica's hands with his eight hands.

Nimel was attracted to movement out of her peripheral vision. She craned her head to see her sister Nyma and Beezer approaching her. "Have any job openings around here?" Nyma asked.

Nimel shrugged, "You'd have to ask the new commanding officer here at the garrison." She glanced around noticing something off. For one there was a sadness in Nyma's eyes and the second she didn't see her partner in crime anywhere. "Where's Rolo?"

Nyma glanced up at the sky. "This is a pretty planet," she couldn't stop the tear that ran down her cheek. She released a sigh and faced Nimel. "Rolo died when he and several others stayed behind to keep the Galra from overrunning our base. He gave us a chance to escape."

Nimel reached out and pulled her little sister into an embrace hugging her tightly to her body. "I'm sorry."

Nyma nodded, but the dam broke, and as her sister held her, she cried.

* * *

Two days passed quickly with visits from some of the bridge crew of the Atlas. What shocked her the most was even the gruff Commander Iverson had come to see her. That was a tiring visit.

Maya heard a knock at her door and turned her head to see James Griffin standing there. "Yes?" Why would he be there she wondered.

James entered and sat down in the empty chair. "Uhm…" he found it hard to speak. "I was wondering if when you get out of here if you'd allow me to show you around Earth."

"I'd like that," she replied as her cheeks flushed a darker blue.

Shiro stood in the doorway, "Mr. Griffin."

James jumped up from the chair raising an arm in a salute, "Captain Shirogane."

Shiro saluted in return. He crossed his arms over his chest.

Griffin almost trembled in fear at the man. Nervously he gazed down at Maya, "See you again?" Hope tinged his voice.

Maya nodded.

Griffin went to leave when Shiro placed a hand on Griffin's shoulder stopping him. "Mr. Griffin, I'd like to know your intentions toward my daughter."

James swallowed hard, but he craned his head toward his commanding officer. "I like her," his voice squeaked out, "and I'd like to know her better."

Shiro leaned forward slightly, just enough to get into James's personal space. "Whatever you do, don't hurt her. You won't have only me to deal with. You'll also have to deal with Lieutenant Ozar, her true father, her brothers, Coran, and the Paladins."

James's face paled. "Yes sir," he hurried out the doorway and down the hall.

Maya smiled at Shiro as he crossed the room to her bedside. "You didn't have to scare him like that. You know you won't hurt him."

Shiro smirked, "He doesn't know that."


End file.
